Remember Me
by fuckinghellbruh
Summary: Naomi and Emily were bestfriends when an accident happened and separated the both of them. Three years later, Naomi scores the winning shot of her college basketball team and sees Emily for the first time after losing her and finds out that she has forgotten about her. Will Emily still remember Naomi?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Sooooooo this story line has been bugging me for weeks in my head. I was so bored and was trying to dig for good Naomily stories, even the unfinished ones, when I stumbled upon Four Point Play. So yes, I was inspired because if there was any sport I could describe well, it was basketball. I got my inspiration from that story and tried to come up with different versions of it until I came up with this one. **

**Let me know what you think? Go and continue or should I go fuck myself? lol. **

**Anyway, like I said, it's inspired by the story Four Point Play. Go look for it here if you haven't read it. It's unfinished but it's a very nice story. **

**D: I don't own skins and will never own it. The characters aren't mine, except for some. Everything skins isn't mine. The rest of the hideous things you read here are certainly mine though. Cheers!**

* * *

I was in middle school when I first saw her. I think I was twelve? She was my bestfriend. The only other person I communicated with other than my mum. The only other person who made an effort to get to know me past my scowl.

For the year that I've known her we played, we talked, we laughed, and we even showered together sometimes as if we were still kids. We did everything together, we were inseparable. Until one day, she was gone. She had an accident which she barely survived, as I was told. I never really knew first hand because before I knew it, they were gone. Her and her family had left for the states, seeking medical treatment. And I only knew this piece of information from our neighbors.

I was devastated to say the least. I was depressed. I lost my bestfriend. I didn't know how she was. Nobody from her family even bothered to say goodbye to me and my mum. And that left me thinking, what happened to her? Will she ever come back? I didn't know. So much so that after that, I kept myself to myself. I became reserved. I became a loner. I never had any friends after that. Not anymore, when the pain I felt was so immense that I told myself I would never let anyone in again.

* * *

It was in my first day of college that I decided to join the women's basketball team in Roundview College, more commonly known as the Roundview Dragons in the league. After I lost my bestfriend, I thought it would be a good idea to focus all my attention to a sport. I happened to pick basketball. And ever since then I came to love the sport. I would always make it a point to watch the NBA. I would even try to mock their movements when I was out on the court and hell I would even go as far as training myself to jump higher so I could dunk. But as I was growing older, I knew it was impossible.

I've never joined basketball clubs, but I felt like this was the time to finally put all my practices to test, so I joined. The coach, Anthea Stonem, immediately took me in. And for the first time since I lost my bestfriend, I learned to let people in again. Not as far as making everyone in the team my bestfriend, but as far as acknowledging them as my friends and that from then on, I would have to dedicate everything I have for this team.

* * *

It was the second month in college and the first game for the Bristol Collegiate Basketball League Women's Division today, or the BCBL as we call it. And it's also our first game in the league today. I sighed, _talk about first blood_. I was nervous because as much as I wanted to play basketball, I never expected to be at the starting line up. When Anthea announced the starting line up, I tried telling her that I didn't have experience, that maybe it was a bad idea to throw someone like me out there to start the game. But Anthea insisted, telling me that I should just _'suck it up and play the game like I'm making love to it.'_ That didn't help, but fuck it, I didn't have a choice.

I was on my way to the locker room when I heard that familiar booming voice along the corridor.

"NAOMIKINS!"

I allowed myself to smile before turning around as I knew who it was. Or actually, who _they_ were. I was met with a grin from the sandy haired boy and a smirk from the mysterious brunette. My bestfriends.

"You ready?" Effy, the mysterious brunette, asked.

"'Course she is, ain't that right blondie?" Cook, the sandy haired boy, interjected still with the grin plastered on his face.

I smiled and nodded. "Just nervous, is all."

Cook slung his arm around my shoulder and gave me a squeeze. "Don't be, yeah? Just show them who the boss is and make your Uncle Cookie proud!" Effy and I cringed at the nickname he gave to himself.

"_Uncle Cookie'_s right, Naoms." She said emphasizing the nickname with a roll of her eyes. "Just play the game like-"

"-you're making love to it. Jesus Christ, you sound like your mum." I said as I finished her sentence for her. She just smirked at me in return.

Effy is Anthea's daughter, and that's how I met her. She came on my first day of training with the team and just sat there uninterested. The day after, I realized we belonged in the same form and that was when we started hanging out, along with a bunch of misfits named Freddie, JJ, Thomas, Pandora and Cook. Cook and Effy just so happened to be the closest to me.

"I have to go. I'll see you later, yeah?" I went for the locker room and turned around to give my bestfriends a wave. They waved back at me with grins on their faces.

"Bring home the sausage Blondie!" Cook bellowed and got a smack in the head from Effy.

"It's bacon, you twat."

I chuckled at the sight and disappeared to the locker room.

* * *

I was fully dressed for the game, wearing the team's home jersey with white as the dominant colour and red at each side of the jersey and as font colour, and my Way of Wade Overtown shoes to match the jersey. My hair was tied in a ponytail. In a few minutes, it's game time. I've never been so nervous in my life. The team's star player, Liv, noticed and she chuckled.

"Nervous?" She asked whilst warming up.

"No" I answered too quickly as I got up to warm up as well, earning a raised eyebrow from her. "Ok, maybe a little."

"You'll get used to it. After 3 games, win or lose, you'll be looking forward to it. Just play the game and make love to it." She advised.

"Jesus, she says that to everyone, doesn't she?" I sighed.

She chuckled again and shook her head at me. "You'll know the meaning of it soon. Just don't forget it." With that, she got up and headed towards the direction of the court but stopped midway when she realized I wasn't following her. "You coming, then?" She asked with a smirk.

Right. Time to make love, I thought and rolled my eyes at the absurdity of it as I followed her to the court.

* * *

It was 2 minutes until the end of the 2nd quarter and our team was leading 30-27 against Cotham School, or the Cotham Eagles as they are known in the league. As it turned out, my nerves were my asset. So far I have contributed 8 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Anthea has yet to take me out of the court to rest, but fuck I was enjoying myself out here. I didn't even mind despite the burn in my lungs. Just 2 more minutes, I thought.

It was Cotham's ball and our team was in defensive position on their side of the court. As their point guard crossed the half court, I immediately approached her and used hard defense on her, sticking myself to her but far enough not to be called for a foul. It seemed to work as she struggled to dribble the ball and find a team mate to pass the ball to. I took my chance and tapped the ball, sending it to our side of the court. I ran after the ball and as I got a hold of it, dribbled my way to the left of the basket for a lay up. All of a sudden, the center of their team who I've come to know as Mandy, was already under the basket and was anticipating my attack. I saw Liv fast approaching the basket to the right and immediately thought of a back up plan. I smirked and continued to dribble towards Mandy, making her think I was going to attack the basket by the grin she was sporting. I looked at Liv and raised my eyebrow at her to send the message and she subtly nodded her head back in acknowledgement. Once I was in front of Mandy, I jumped and she jumped in an attempt to block my shot. But what she never thought of was the alley-oop I was planning. Whilst on the air, I released the ball as if shooting it, only in the direction Liv was coming from. She jumped and caught the ball, immediately releasing it as a lay up shot. The ball hit the board and bounced straight into the hoop. Score! 32-27. The crowd cheered loudly at Liv and I's game play. Fuck me, this was fun!

The referee whistled and signaled for Timeout, pointing to the direction of the Eagles just as the spectator announced "Timeout, Cotham Eagles!" This just sent our crowd to cheer and clap louder. I headed to our bench and took a seat, as my teammates clapped my back. Immediately, I was handed a plastic cup filled with Gatorade and drank the whole of it. Anthea pulled a chair and sat in front of us.

"Right, ladies! Good job on the defensive play. Especially you, Blondie" I nodded my head as she pointed at me. "But we still have 2 quarters and a minute and a half to go. So don't celebrate, if I were you. You lot have yet to make the whole crowd come. And I don't want any of you celebrating until we've sent the whole crowd screaming in orgasm. Is that clear?" I cringed at her use of innuendo but cheered along with the team when they did. "Right, off you go!" She shooed us away, keeping the players before the timeout on the court.

The Eagles were not able to score for the rest of the quarter. On the other hand, I've managed to make 2 more steals with 2 more assists to Liv and shoot a three by the end of the quarter, resulting in the score of 39-27. The referee whistled for half time and the team and I headed back to our locker room. Despite not being able to score, the Eagles had played harder defense after the timeout to the point that the game was becoming more physical than usual in a women's basketball game. They were tough, but their defense wasn't enough to stop the onslaught of shot after shot delivered by Liv and I. It was the reason why I was so tired. It was fun, but tiring. Liv was right, it was exciting and I allowed myself to think that maybe in the next game, I wouldn't be so nervous anymore.

I had my head bowed, trying to focus on my breathing as I was panting so hard from exhaustion when I bumped into another person.

"Watch where you're going, bitch!"

I was too focused that I failed to realize that Roundview's cheering squad was on their way to the court to perform. And the person I bumped into happened to be one of them. I stopped and raised my head to look at the source of bitchiness in shock when I saw who it was.

"Uh, hello? Sorry? Have you even heard of that? You know the thing people say when-" She paused and was shocked as she realized who I was. "Oh my god! Naomi?"

"Katie?" I stuttered.

"Fuck! It really is you! I'm so sorry! I thought it was someone else-" She exclaimed and I immediately cut her off.

"Still a bitch then?" I smirked and she smiled back in acknowledgement. "How's… Is she with you? Are you both studying here now?"

"She's fine. And yes, she's studying here now but-"

"Great! Where is she? We have some catching up to do!"

"Naomi…"

"Oh and tell her she owes me so much, she never even tried to contact me."

"Nao-"

"Oh yeah, that includes you too! And the rest of your family. I mean, what the fuck? You left without saying goodbye!"

"NAOMI!"

I stopped then and realized she's been trying to call my attention.

"I don't think it's a good idea for now, Naomi. I have to go, but it was nice seeing you, yeah? I'll see you around, bitch!" She said the last part whilst running to the court and throwing me a wave.

I stood there confused at her quick exit. More so, at what she said. What does she mean it's not a good idea? Just when I thought I was already okay, life decides to throw the past back in my life. I was still confused when I got to the locker room, trying to think why it wasn't a good idea to play catch up with my old bestfriend; the bestfriend I thought I lost. All of a sudden a clipboard slammed on my head and I groaned in pain. That's when I realized I've been too far in my head that I didn't realize everyone in the team was watching me.

"Focus, Blondie! We need you! Take a bloody seat if you're not feeling well." She spat at me. I sat down immediately and shook my head to get back on focus. _Focus, Naomi. You've got a game to win. _And so I did. I placed all my worries and the ghost that is Katie Fitch with the additional thought of her twin sister at the back of my mind and focused on Anthea's instructions. All 5 of us who played for the 2nd quarter will be substituted with the others for the rest of the 3rd quarter. Liv and I will return to the court in the last quarter. After which, we all stood up in one big circle with Liv on the middle.

"I want y'all to focus. We've got to fuck them. We have to show every team in this league that we're a threat. I want y'all to play with every fucking weapon you've got in there. Show them who we really are. And like what Anthea said, no celebrating unless we've made the crowd come. Fuck them hard! Is that clear?" to which we all replied with "Yes captain!"

"Alright, Dragons in 3!" She continued and we all stretched our hands to the middle. "1, 2, 3…"

"DRAGONS!" We shouted whilst raising our hands to the air and cheered the rest of our way back to the court.

* * *

Six minutes until the end of the 3rd quarter was when everything went wrong for our team. Our bench players on the court were tired. They were missing shots and making sloppy passes. They were careless on the defensive end. They had been pushed to the limit by the Eagles. Our crowd had been silent for a while, watching the downfall of our team. They had scored 15 points to this point of the quarter, whilst our team had only scored 6 points, resulting to the score of 45-43. We were still leading but it was only two points, compared to the twelve-point lead we had by halftime. And judging by the way our players have been playing, it was only a matter of time for the Eagles to overtake us. Anthea had been exclaiming expletives. It's supposed to be scary and alarming, I know, but the longer she did it, the longer I was becoming amused. Even Liv was smiling in amusement despite the way our team was playing. But deep inside I knew we were just as nervous as our players on the court. We were both itching to get out of there to do something about it, our knees jumping up and down. When a foul made by our team mate resulted in a deadlock, Anthea had had enough.

"That's it! Malone, Moore, Underwood, and Ford, get the fuck out there and replace those little buggers please! Jesus Christ." She commanded and they did as she told. I was left wondering why the rest of the players I was playing with in the first half were already out there, when she must have seen it in my face and answered the question for me. "Just stay where you are Blondie. Something tells me you need the extra rest for the 4th quarter."

I did as she told and watched in trepidation as my team attempted to get the lead. Eventually, with the help of Liv and the rest, we were leading the game at 55-50 by the end of the 3rd quarter. It was time for the last quarter, where both teams will use every weapon and every technique they've got to get the win. It's the quarter wherein a team cannot afford to commit mistakes as they will only lead to loss. I was excited and nervous at the same time, but this was different compared to the first half. Because this time, I could feel the rush of adrenaline in my veins. 4th quarter is definitely game time. I looked at the crowd and spotted Cook, Effy and the rest of our gang looking at our team. When they noticed me looking, they waved and cheered for me that I could do it. I smiled and gave them two thumbs up in acknowledgement. Just then, Anthea clapped her hands to get our attention.

"Listen!" She exclaimed. "This is it, ladies. But I want you all to relax. We will never get the win if you get in there as a bunch of nervous wreck. I want you all to breathe and remember why we're here. We started this game with a boom and we should end it with a bang. And I don't fucking care if that sounds like a load of bollocks cliché. This is not just a game, people. Remember, play the game like you're making love to it. Keep that in your minds."

And so we listened to Anthea and made love to the game. It wasn't an easy one, but at least we were still in the game. Both teams were playing so hard that the game turned to a very physical one. If the last minute of the 2nd quarter was intense, this was on a whole new level. Fouls were called here and there. Warnings were already being thrown to both teams by the officials. The lead had already changed five times. And I think I may have been elbowed to the face twice already, judging by how painful my face was. But this was not the time to cry to mummy Anthea because of a fucking booboo. The score was currently at 65-70 with 3:26 minutes left in the 4th quarter, Eagles lead. I can already feel our crowd losing hope but our team wasn't. We knew that so many things can happen within four minutes.

I was currently handling the ball making a game play in my head whilst observing the movement of the Eagles' defense. On the far right side of the court on three-point territory, Sophia Moore was positioned. I nodded my head at her, signalling my need for help. Immediately she ran towards us and blocked the left side of my defender for a pick n' roll play, just as I was driving to my right, resulting to my defender colliding with Moore. I drove past our defenders positioned inside the arc and went straight to the basket for a lay up. The ball circled around the ring and eventually went inside the hoop. I looked at the score board, 67-70 and thought, just a little more.

For the next two minutes, both teams have scored but the Eagles had maintained the lead to three points. We were trailing at 72-75 with 1:05 minutes remaining and were currently sat at the bench for our last timeout of the game.

"You pussies need to relax, you hear me?" Was the only thing she said when sat across from us. She sighed and narrowed her eyes at me. "And Blondie? Go get them girl."

I'm not sure it's allowed to give your players a cryptic pep talk, but that confused the fuck out of me. It was soon overtaken by my drive to win the game though and soon enough, I used the confusion Anthea had instilled in me to focus on the game at hand. We need to get to the free throw line, I thought. And soon enough, Ford was fouled by Mandy and sent to the free throw line. She missed the first shot but delivered the second shot. 73-75 with 36 seconds left.

As the other team's point guard crossed the half court, I immediately approached her and put on a hard defense. But she was quick and passed the ball to her team mate on my right, being defended by Liv. The player I was defending then decided to block Liv's left side for a pick n' roll play, and it's a good thing I anticipated what was happening because before the player got through, I touched her arm for a foul just so we could stop the clock. And what a good decision it was. As it turned out, the player I fouled didn't get any of the two shots in. Underwood, our center, immediately went for the rebound.

Liv, Moore, Ford and I immediately ran to our side of the court. I positioned myself outside the arc by the right side of our court, constantly trying to outrun my defender and getting back to my previous position. We had 16 seconds left. 16 seconds left to turn this around and get the win. Liv was across from me, all the way to the left arc of the court. She was handling the ball, doing a crossover dribble to prevent the other team from stealing the ball. She was bloody good at it. And I knew what she was doing, she was wasting the time. I knew Liv wouldn't let us lose the game so I trusted that whatever plan she had in mind, it was for our win. She kept dribbling the ball until the clock ticked 5 seconds and she passed the ball to Moore, who was positioned on the center arc. All, including my defender, approached Moore when they saw her jump to take a shot. Of course Moore saw this and immediately saw I was free and passed the ball whilst mid-air to me. 3 fucking seconds. I positioned myself properly and at 1 second I shot the ball, falling down on my back by the force of two of the opposing team running into me in an attempt to block the ball.

It hurt. But I didn't care. I leaned up using my elbows just to get a view of the ball. You know how in movies everything goes in slow motion when something big is about to happen? Well, it does happen. It was happening to me now. Slowly the ball approached the basket and at 0.2 left at the clock, the ball went through the hoop and everyone around me whopped in joy. I looked at the score board to make sure I wasn't making this out in my head and true enough, the score was at 76-75. There was still 0.2 seconds left and Eagles had to make an in-bound. They did quite lazily as they knew they wouldn't stand a chance. And that's when I allowed myself to celebrate. We won! We had made the crowd come! I let myself fall on my back and laughed at Anthea's innuendos now that we had finished the game.

Soon enough, my team mates were carrying me in joy. I took this opportunity to scan the crowd and saw my gang of misfits hugging each other at our success. I allowed myself to bask in happiness and let myself smile. I scanned the crowd again and that was when I saw her in the crowd. She was looking at me and smiled shyly when she caught me looking at her. I immediately put myself down from all the carrying and ran towards her.

"Emily!" I shouted and she seemed surprised at this. She kept smiling at me though but this time, there was a look of confusion on her face which made her look adorable, even after all these years.

I continued running towards her whilst shouting her name. I enveloped her in a bone crushing hug when I got to her. Fuck, strawberries, she still smelt the same. She was still smaller than I was. And most importantly, she was alive and well. I pulled back and allowed myself to drink her in. Age had only improved her looks and god was she stunning.

"Emily" I said again. She furrowed her brow this time and I felt my stomach churn. Somewhere in my gut, I felt that something was wrong. She hadn't hugged me back with enthusiasm. In fact, she hadn't hugged me back at all. She hadn't even said my name.

"Not that I'm complaining, but do I know you?" She asked with a mix of confusion and amusement. I felt sick.

"What? You don't remember me?" I spluttered, walking backwards to put some space between us and decided to play with her just in case she was trying to play me. "Are you sure? I mean it's quite difficult to forget this face when-" I stopped talking when she shook her head at me sadly. I gulped to push the lump in my throat as I felt the tears brimming in my eyes.

"Oh" was the only thing I said then.

I put some more distance between us and when I saw her open her mouth to say something, I did the only thing I was ever really good at. I ran. I ran out of the court to the locker room so I could get my stuff. I didn't even wait for my friends. I didn't wait for my team. I just ran. My cheeks were so wet from crying, but I didn't care anymore. I didn't even bother to look at my stats for the game. I just needed to get home. I needed someone who would never forget me. I needed assurance. I needed my mum.

Because sadly, the only other important person in my life, the person I've been missing for 3 years, my bestfriend… has forgotten about me.


	2. Chapter 2

Emily

Have you ever felt the feeling like something's missing? You're happy with your life but when you're all alone with your thoughts at night, you start to feel a dull ache in your heart and you wonder _why do I feel this way?_ Then you wake up the next day feeling as bright as sunshine, as if the pain you felt the night before was just your imagination. But when the night comes and you're all alone again, it all comes back with a vengeance and you come up with questions like _what the hell is wrong with me? _Or you ask yourself, _what am I missing?_

Those are the questions that have been swimming in my head for the past three years. I struggled to keep the questions at bay for the first few months of waking up from my deep slumber of 3 weeks that was caused by my accident; a car accident. According to my parents, I could have died there and then. But thankfully a witness called the ambulance right away and I was quickly attended to. The rest of the people in the car were dead on the spot, I was the only one breathing, bleeding and seemingly dead to the world. I suppose you're wondering who I was with in the car? Well again, according to my parents, I was riding the car with a friend of mine, Sarah I think her name was, from middle school on the way home when the accident happened. All they knew was that the car collided with a huge truck that sent the car tumbling over and over again. And because of that accident, I can't remember my first 13 years of existence.

Everyone who knew about this kept telling me how lucky I was to be given another chance at life and that somewhere above someone was watching over me. But nobody understood how it felt inside. Nobody knew how I felt at night. For the last three years, or perhaps the only years I knew I lived in, I would cry myself to sleep thinking of the same questions over and over again. It was hard because I never had concrete answers, because no one knew the answers to them.

Of course I've tried asking my parents and my siblings about my past. But it seemed as if it was a family referendum not to speak about my past to me anymore. One night after the first few months of constant dilly dallying from them, I finally snapped. I grew tired of their evasions. I felt and thought that I had the right to know the things in my past and yet my family all out refused to give me just the tiniest bit of information about it. My parents had the good grace to look ashamed, but it still wasn't enough for them to take pity for the victim of amnesia, yours truly. My twin sister Katie, however, felt guilty enough that every day since that night, she would tell me some of the memories we've shared. I felt relieved to say the least, but I couldn't help but feel like she still kept some of the things in my past hidden. I thought better of it instead and thanked her for it. I guess I will always have the feeling that something's missing. Besides, what was I expecting? I've lost 13 years of my memory.

I suppose living in the states; California in particular, didn't help me at all. It felt strange, it felt foreign, as if deep down I knew I didn't belong there. But I didn't want to live my life as an ungrateful bitch and eventually settled myself there. I changed my attitude towards life. I thought of those who told me I was lucky to be alive and finally understood why I was. I never held grudges against anyone who did me wrong. I gave the people who wronged me second chances, third chances, fucking infinite chances. Katie would give me constant bollocking for forgiving some twat, but I told her that life was too short not to forgive. And she only told me that I was '_such a fucking cliché.'_

It was also in the states that I discovered I was gay. In our last year there, I began to notice the differences between me and Katie. Whereas she brought home different boys after 3 months of dating each one of them, I was the single twin to my family. But little did they know that I was playing for the other team. I was attracted to girls. I liked tits, pussies and asses. I wanted to have sex with girls, but I've never though… But it's all thanks to Nikki, a classmate of mine who I had a heated make out session with on one of our night outs that I had finally discovered why I never brought home boys. And little by little, I realized I never even found them attractive. We weren't together after that, Nikki and I, it was just a one time thing but it did help me get to know a part of me that I thought was one of the missing pieces ever since the accident. I told Katie about it, at first she went ballistic, but accepted me for it after the initial shock wore off. And since then nothing mattered anymore, as long as my other half accepted me for who I was.

Except now I found myself staring at the space where a blonde basketball player was once stood. I only caught her last name as it was written at the back of her jersey, _Campbell._

We were back in Bristol, where Katie told me was where we originally lived. I believed her because once we've landed, I couldn't help but feel like I found another missing piece to the puzzle that was my 13 years of existence. Somewhere at the back of my mind, I felt like I was finally getting all the right answers. We've been back for 3 months then. The first month was spent by adjusting to our new home, to which Katie said it wasn't new because we used to live here before. Nevertheless, it felt new to me. Katie also spent the entire month touring me around Bristol, teaching me how to get to places. On the second month, Katie and I attended our first day of college in Roundview. Katie had joined the cheering squad of our school in the states, so it was no surprise when she automatically joined the cheering squad in Roundview once she heard they had one.

As for me? I didn't join any clubs. I was never really a socialite, that part was played by Katie. That didn't mean I was a loner there though. There was JJ, who rambled endlessly whenever he was nervous. And there was Pandora, or Panda as we called her, who was a huge bundle of joy who I think has no idea how filthy some of the things she says are most of the time. But I never really get to hang out with them as they both belonged to an odd group of misfits. On the third month, which was the present, Katie had dragged me to this BCBL women's division game as they were performing on halftime. Being the supportive twin that I was, I relented and agreed. What I never thought of was that looking at a blonde player would make my stomach flip. At first I thought that it was all down to attraction, she was beautiful, like no one I've seen in the states. But as the game went on, I felt like it was something else but I didn't know what.

That's why when she was carried by her team mates for winning the game for Roundview Dragons, I couldn't help but smile at her direction. What I didn't expect was she beamed back at me and Jesus did that make me melt into a pile of goo. I was surprised when she tried to escape her team mates, running towards me while shouting my name. How the fuck did she know who I was? As far as I know, we've never met. This was my first time seeing her in this college. When she hugged me though, I felt different. For the first time in three years, I think my heart was pounding from so much happiness, my stomach was doing somersaults and back flips, I was happy. But why? When she pulled back, I couldn't help but smile despite my confusion, but let it fall when she said my name again. How come I don't remember meeting someone as beautiful as her? I thought. I didn't want to reject her; I wanted her here with me so I went for a joke and asked her who she was. That's when I felt a pang in my heart; she frowned but quickly covered it up with a joke. But when I frowned at her more, she knew I wasn't joking about not knowing her. I wanted to say something, I felt like I owed her an explanation but didn't know where the hell that feeling was coming from. So I went to speak but before I know it, she was gone. She ran away. And I felt my heart breaking at the sight.

That's where I found myself staring into space. I don't know how long I was stood there, but thankfully Katie saved me from looking like a right tart and grabbed me. She pulled me along with her to a space where it wasn't crowded and looked at me with the same brown eyes I have, only they were dancing with concern as mine was dancing with despair.

"What's wrong?" She asked. I shook my head and felt my body shake as I began to sob.

She just stood there and held me to her tightly, telling me that everything was going to be okay, whatever it was. I nodded and tried to stop myself from sobbing. I pulled away from her and looked at my twin in the eye when I muttered, "Campbell."

She looked shocked and she didn't look like she was going to answer my question so I continued. "I knew her, didn't I?" I saw her gulp audibly at this and I could see the cogs turning in her head. I already knew that she was forming a lie inside her head.

"Don't lie." I added my voice still hoarse from the crying.

It seemed to do the trick. Katie sobbed but slowly nodded her head at first as if she was uncertain, until she was nodding like I was right.

"Yes, Ems. You know her. Probably the only person you knew best besides me."

* * *

**There we go, now we know what's happened to Emily. :( **

**Thank you so much for the reviews so far! Keep it coming. I need it. It's my fuel to update this story. And do let me know if I should still go on? Or yet again, should I piss off and go fuck myself already? **


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hello! ****I'm so so so sorry for not being able to update the story sooner, I intended to but I went out with my college friends yesterday and was too tired to finish this chapter. **Oh and thank you for the lovely reviews so far. They sure motivate me to update this story. Keep it going though, I might just update this story everyday if I feel very motivated. But here we go. I'll leave you to it then and see the chapter for yourself! 

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Naomi

To lose your bestfriend knowing that somewhere out there, she's well and alive is one thing. But to see them again after so long and finding out that they forgot about you is another. If the pain I felt three years ago was so intense that I stopped talking to people that wasn't Gina Campbell, the pain of being forgotten was much worse. I never thought that I would feel pain more severe than what I had felt when I lost her.

I felt myself closing off, slowly building up the walls that I have broken down myself when I joined the basketball team. I tried fighting myself from building them up, because quite frankly, it felt good to be open. It felt good to have friends. It felt good to finally not spend the rest of the day alone because I had Cook and Effy, I had the gang, and I had the basketball team. But I realized then how important Emily was because despite having them all, being forgotten by her woke up some feelings inside of me that I thought I would never feel again. Only this time, it was much worse.

I couldn't help but wonder though, was it that easy to forget about me? And more so, _how could she?_ I mean, after all those times we've spent together… Even if it was just a year, we were practically inseparable. We were bestfriends. So what changed? I couldn't help but think that I was worthless, that maybe I was really that forgettable.

My head was hurting from all these thoughts, but then again I only have myself to blame. I didn't give her a chance to explain. I mean, she was about to say something a while ago, wasn't she? And what did I do? I ran away from her. I ran away from the answers to the questions I have right now. I am such a tit.

When I got home, I headed to the kitchen and saw my mum sitting down, nursing herself a cup of tea whilst reading the newspaper. I allowed myself to smile for a bit at the image before me. I must have made a noisy entrance because she looked up at me and smiled warmly, but it quickly turned into a frown. For a second I was confused, but everything came crashing down to me when she enveloped me in a hug.

"Oh Naomi, is everything alright love?" She asked as she slowly rubbed my back whilst hugging me. I pulled back and looked at her.

"Mum." I paused, trying to stop myself from sobbing. "She's back."

"Who is?" She asked with her brows furrowed and her eyes full of concern.

"Emily, mum. Emily's back. I saw her mum." I said, tears forming in my eyes.

She smiled then but frowned right away when she saw tears escape from my eyes. "Oh love, shouldn't you be happy about that? Emily was your bestfriend, right?"

That did it. I broke down in front of my mum for the first time in my life. You would have thought that when I lost her, I cried myself to sleep every night. That wasn't the case. Instead of letting all my depression out, I hid behind a cold exterior. I was Naomi Campbell, known as the ice queen and the sarcastic bitch. I didn't do crying. And more importantly, I didn't do feeling. But after today's events, I just couldn't take it anymore. The pain was too much this time. Perhaps it was the mistake of keeping myself to myself that I had finally exploded.

So I told my mum everything that happened today. From the start of the game, to bumping into Katie during halftime, to how much the team struggled during the second half, to scoring the winning shot (to which I got an earful of squealing from and to which I would have rolled my eyes at if it wasn't for the situation), to being carried by my team mates, to spotting the gang celebrating amongst the crowd, to spotting Emily and to finally finding out that Emily had forgotten about me. All throughout, she never said a word. She just held me tight and made the right noises to let me know that she was listening. When I got to the last part, she just held me tighter. I sobbed harder against her and she just let me for what felt like hours.

I felt relieved to say the least. And not for the first time, I was thankful to have a very patient and loving mum. The crying helped a lot. It was good to finally release three years of depression. It felt good to finally completely put my walls down. And for the first time since losing my bestfriend, I felt like I could breathe again. I felt three years of tension leaving my body. Of course, I was still gutted that she forgot who I was, but more than that, I was relieved. I pulled myself back from my mum once I've stopped crying and saw her smiling at me.

"You're such a stupid cow." Of all the things I expected my mum to say, this wasn't it.

"Oh" I snorted. "Thanks mum. Is that supposed to cheer me up?" I snapped and rolled my eyes at her.

"Naomi, for such an intelligent girl, you really are stupid, aren't you?" She chuckled and shook her head at me. I gave her my best death glare, but as expected, she was immune to it and kept chuckling at me.

"Right. Call me when you're done laughing at me, yeah?" I rolled my eyes and made my way to my room when she stopped me.

"Naomi." She said sternly. "Sit down please, love." She continued in a softer tone.

I walked back and took a seat beside her. When she didn't continue, I raised my eyebrows at her.

"For once, Naomi, I'd like you to stop thinking with your feet and listen to me." She paused and I nodded my defeat. "Right. So from what I've gathered from the snotty crying a while ago-"

"Oi!" I shoved her playfully and she chuckled again.

"Like I said, snotty crying… Was that after hugging her, she asked you if she knew you? Is that right, love?" I nodded. "What else did she say?"

"Nothing. I ran right away. I couldn't take it."

"See, that's where the problem lies, love. You ran away and you didn't even give her the chance to explain." I looked down at my hands and played with it. She tipped my chin and looked straight into my eyes.

"Did it not cross your mind that you were special in the eyes of that girl?" I shook my head and furrowed my brows, curious as to where she was going with this.

"You were, Naomi. She looked at you like you were her favourite toy. She looked at you like the sun shines from you. Her eyes lit up every time she looked at you. A blind man would have seen how special you were in her eyes. Didn't you ever see that love?" I shook my head again and wiped the tears that had escaped my eyes.

"Love like that isn't something you forget about, Naomi." She continued.

"Love?" I asked.

"Yes, but that's not the point." She cupped my cheeks and wiped my tears. "My point is… I don't think Emily forgot about you. Not deliberately of course. Did it not cross your mind that maybe… the accident did this to her?"

"So you think that she's-"

"Yes. I think that she's suffering from amnesia." She said as she cut me off.

"But… How… So what should I do?" I asked.

"Talk to her." She answered as if it was the easiest thing to do.

"But it's not that simple, is it? I mean, what if she ignores me? I ran away from her a while ago, didn't I? And what if this new Emily doesn't like me one bit? I mean, I was such a tit a while ago. Like you said, I was thinking with my feet again and I just had to run away-" I rambled but she cut me off, again.

"You could have all the 'what if's' in the world but those wouldn't give you the answers to your questions." She paused and held my hand. "And I don't think she will ignore you. Emily was never the type of person to ignore people, wasn't she?"

She was right, of course. Emily was the nicest person in the world. She wore her heart in her sleeve. I had seen Katie having a right fit at Emily for 'being stupid' for forgiving people right away so many times, but she was never bothered by it. She was a warm person. It was impossible not to like her.

"But what makes you think she won't this time? She could've changed for all we know…" I muttered.

"Naomi," She paused and tapped my head with her hand whilst she continued. "The mind may forget…" She paused again, this time placing her hand above my heart. "but the heart will always remember." She dropped her hand and held my hand again. "So just talk to her. If not for you, then do it for me, would you love?" She stood up and kissed my cheek, leaving me alone to ponder about what she had just said.

'_The mind may forget but the heart will always remember.' _I thought to myself, replaying what my mum had left me alone to think about. I didn't know what she meant by it, but for some reason I felt a lot lighter. I didn't mind that the talk with my mum made me realize how much of a tit I was for running away when things got difficult. Besides, what's new? Gina was never the type of person to say the wrong things. So, what else could go wrong? I've decided then to give it a chance. I would talk to her tomorrow when I see her in college. But how? And what will I say? _'I'm sorry for taking off yesterday. And btw, I'm Naomi. Can we be friends?' _

I sighed and shook my head, making my way to my room. I picked up my phone to see 11 missed calls, all from Cook and Effy. Shit, they must have been looking everywhere for me. I checked the time and saw that it was still early in the evening, 8pm. Jesus, I was crying for hours. I was knackered though, so I sent both Cook and Effy a text each telling them that I was okay and I would see them tomorrow at college. I shrugged today's clothes and went to lie on my bed.

_'The mind may forget but the heart will always remember' _was the last thing I thought of as I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

I woke up the next morning feeling lighter than I had for years. It was no surprise though that as I checked the time on my phone, it was still 5am. I made a quick decision then that I would jog to school and use the rest of my time before my classes to catch up with the training I had missed yesterday. With or without game, we hold trainings from 6pm-9pm, Mondays to Fridays. It's tiring and it eats up the time I need to finish my coursework, but that's Anthea Stonem for you. I can't exactly complain about her training methods though because it helps us improve in the game.

With that in mind, I picked up my Nike duffel bag that was lying on the floor and replaced yesterday's dirty clothes with new ones. I took a shower and dressed myself with my favourite navy blue hoodie, white basketball training shorts, and my black-dark grey Nike Hyperfuse. I picked up my phone and hitched the duffel bag around my shoulders and set off for school.

* * *

I arrived in our school's gym at around 6:15. My classes don't start until 9am, so I had less than 3 hours alone to improve my shots. I immediately took off for 10 laps around then walked around for at least 5 minutes to cool off. I stretched my whole body, not wanting to injure myself in practice then went for the cage that holds the balls. I got one and set off to practice my shooting. I diverted from free throw shots, jump shots, three point shots, and lay-ups, not stopping until I wasn't missing anything. By the time I was done, it was already 8:45. I smiled to myself, nothing like a good training to start the day, I thought. I headed to the shower right away and dressed up for school in a white plain tee, blue skinnies and black converse. I was on the way out when I noticed a figure sat on one of the bleaches that I had just passed. I jumped and snapped at the figure.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Effy! Is there ever a day that you feel like announcing your presence?" She just smirked at me and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her. "How long have you been in there?" I asked.

"Long enough for me to know how long it takes for you to sweat." She smirked and I sighed. I must have been too focused to notice that someone was watching me.

"That long huh?"

"I wasn't the only one in here though." She shrugged and my brows furrowed at this.

"What do you mean? Who was with you?" I asked.

"Any chance you know a cute redhead around this college?" She asked and I shook my head right. "No? Small, with cute the button nose?" She asked and I realized who she was talking about. _Emily. _I never even realized that she had her hair coloured. I mean, was I that excited to see her yesterday to have not noticed it? I shook my head and went to reply to Effy.

"Oh. She was here then?" I asked.

"Interesting." She said with a glimmer in her eyes. "She was here for a minute or two, but left when she saw me." I nodded my head at this piece of information.

Cook and Effy knew that I had lost my bestfriend three years ago and never saw her again. But they didn't know her name and since I spent yesterday crying, I haven't had the chance to tell them what happened after the game. I wasn't about to tell that to Effy now, our English class was bound to start in 5 minutes. Thankfully, Effy must have sensed that I didn't want to talk about it and didn't press further. Besides, I bet she already had an idea what it was all about. After all, she was Effy 'all-knowing' Stonem. What's new?

"Walk with you to class?" She asked and I agreed.

"But do you mind? I just need to put this bag in my locker and get my things."

"Sure." She shrugged and we set off to my locker.

On the way there, Effy regaled me with stories that happened yesterday involving Cook. She said that during halftime, Cook kept shouting obscenities at the cheer dancers from both teams and was threatened to be ousted from the court by the guards. We both laughed at this knowing that it was expected from someone like Cook. She told me how they kept looking for me around the school when I didn't answer their calls, to which I apologized for. I also told her that I would explain what happened whenever we have the time. She then told me that she saw the cute little redhead, as she refers to Emily, chatting up with JJ and Panda some time after the game. This caught my attention and I asked Effy to double check I heard her correctly.

"Wait, so you mean you saw her with JJ and Panda? She knows them both?" I asked but she was looking straight ahead to the direction of my locker.

"Heads up, Naoms. Your stalker beat you to it." She nodded her head towards the direction of my locker and I followed her line of sight. True enough, there stood Sophia Moore. I forgot about JJ and Panda knowing Emily right away. I sighed and rolled my eyes in frustration.

"Play nice." I reminded Effy once we set off towards the direction of my locker.

"I told you it wasn't a good idea to fuck her." She whispered harshly. I glared at her.

"How would I even know that she would turn into some creep?" I whispered back before we were within Sophia's earshot.

"Hey." Sophia said.

"Hi… erm, is there anything you need, Sophia?" I asked whilst getting my books from my locker.

"I was thinking if we could have lunch together, you know? This Saturday?" She asked.

"She has plans." Effy answered and I glared at her as I closed my locker, she gave me a pointed stare back telling me to do what I have to do.

"Look, Sophia. I'm sorry but I'm not really into those cosy lunches, yeah? We fucked and it was a one time thing. I'm sure you'll find someone out there who's more than willing to spend her entire Saturdays with you." I told her and she frowned. She was about to reply when Effy fixed a steely glare at her.

"Oh. Okay. See you in practice then?" She asked and I nodded as she left us.

Effy and I just looked at each other and rolled our eyes at the same time. We knew better than to feel safe about it. Sophia had been stalking me for a month now after our drunken shag, following me around like a sick puppy even though I had brushed her off so many times. It's a good thing that she behaves herself well during practice. It wasn't even supposed to happen, the shagging I mean. But I was horny and she happened to be the next available female. I was traumatized though when she started stalking me, that I also stopped shagging female after female. I haven't had a shag since. Yes, I'm gay and proud of it. Everyone in school knew of it. I've broken my fair share of hearts, but I can't say it's really my fault. I always tell them that it's nothing serious but in the end they all end up being clingy, which was something I didn't like and still don't. I never had relationships because I never do relationships. And anyway, I was growing tired of shagging different randoms. I had long decided that it was time to stop thinking with my cunt. I suddenly remembered the topic Effy and I were talking about before the Sophia situation.

"So, JJ and Panda know Emily?" I asked as we entered our classroom, thankfully with our professor still nowhere to be seen.

"Emily? That's her name?" She asked nonchalantly and I instantly knew that Effy was bluffing me. I rolled my eyes at her.

"Yes, that's her name. So do they know her?" I asked and she smirked when she spotted my frustration.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?"

"Just answer the bloody question, Eff!" I hissed at her.

"Josie's here." Was her only reply and I groaned in frustration, knowing that was her way of telling me she wouldn't tell me the answer. So I settled for class, muttering to myself how Effy wasn't so helpful most of the time. I saw her smirk even wider, seemingly finding my frustration amusing. I huffed back at her and ignored her to focus in class.

Five minutes later, I found a piece of paper on my table. I looked at Effy to see her writing her notes. So I opened it and I smiled right away.

_Party at Freddie's shed on Friday. She will be there._

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**I know there was no Naomily interaction in this chapter. But stay with me, I'm pretty sure you know it's coming soon. ;) **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hi. So I tried uploading this last night but then my internet connection decided it was the right time to fuck up. My apologies! I'm really sorry for not being able to update right away. In my defense, I've been having a hard time articulating all my ideas into a story line. And I didn't want to update just for the sake of updating. But I think I failed in that aspect, I did my best though… And the idea is that at least I get to upload one more chapter before I leave for Indonesia, because then I wouldn't be able to update for at least two weeks. Anyway, enough of that! **

**I really think you SHOULD be reading these stories, they're far better than this one: The Long White Cloud, Begin Again, 12 Years of Christmas, Imagine Us, The Road to Wimbledon and Thrust Industries. More importantly, Four Point Play. I'm sure I've forgotten the title of some of the other stories I've been reading around here, but yeah you get it… **

**Any errors are all mine. teehee**

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Emily

Dread and fulfilment. These are the two things that I had felt when Katie told me that I knew her. And not just know her; apparently she was the only other person I knew best besides Katie, which was saying something. I felt dreadful, because I couldn't imagine the pain she was feeling when I basically told her that I couldn't remember her. That just because of a stupid accident, someone out there had to get hurt. Someone out there had to suffer the consequences of my accident; being forgotten. And that someone had to be my bestfriend, _Naomi Campbell._ But in a way, I felt complete. It was like I finally found the most important piece that was missing from my past. She was special; that I knew from what Katie had told me. But I suppose I already knew from the first time I laid my eyes on her during the game.

After crying it all out to Katie, she made a promise to tell me stories about Naomi for me to know how much she truly meant to me. As much as it sounded appealing, I refused and told her not to bother anymore. I couldn't stand knowing how much pain I have caused her. It was frustrating to know that I have forgotten someone who not only was special to me, but also in the eyes of others. I didn't want to pour more salt to my already wounded mind and heart. Having amnesia is torture enough, thank you very much.

Apparently, JJ and Panda seemed to have spotted me crying from a far and before I knew it, they were gushing over me, asking me what was wrong. I felt thankful that I had found myself friends in this college; friends that cared for me. But I brushed them off, telling them that it was nothing and that I was okay. Only, I wish I really was. Thankfully, Katie had cancelled her plans for the rest of the day and took me home. I tried telling her that it was okay for her to go with the squad and the team later in the evening for the celebration of the win, but she told me that I needed my _'big sister' _more than they needed her. I rolled my eyes, _classic Katie at its best_. Later that night, she stayed with me in bed and hugged me while I sleep, but not before telling me that she loved me and that she would always be there for me. I think that was probably the first time I slept with a genuine smile on my face.

The next morning found me early for school. I didn't know why, I just felt like I needed to be in school early. But now that I was here, I was starting to regret it. I should have just gone to school in time with Katie, even though we always end up being late, what with her indecisiveness when it comes to her outfits. That thought quickly disappeared though when I spotted JJ and Panda talking animatedly with each other across the field behind the school. I smiled at the image before me and walked towards them just in time for Panda to notice me.

"Blimey, you're looking mega happy today, Emily!" Panda exclaimed which made JJ look up and smile once he saw me. She patted the spot beside her for me to sit down and I followed suit.

"Yes, I agree. I must say Emily, smiling looks good on you. Well, not that you're not beautiful when you're not smiling. It's just that-" JJ rambled and I cut him off to save him from getting locked on.

"Thanks JJ. Thanks Panda." I said, feeling my cheeks heat up from their compliments.

I guess you could say that I really was mega happy, as Panda would say so. I woke up feeling lighter than I had in years. Knowing what, or should I say who, the missing and the most important piece (so it seems) to my life had somehow put me to rest. Like all the weight that I had been carrying on my shoulder was gone. That's not to say that I'm completely happy, because I'm still not. Because first off, what do I do? Do I talk to her? I've always wanted to apologize even before Katie told me that I knew her. I wasn't sure why at first, but now that I know, I've been itching to talk to her. And that leads me to my second problem, because I'm not entirely sure she'd even bother talking to me after knowing that I 'forgot' about her. I wouldn't blame her if she decides not to talk to me, because I'm pretty sure I would react the same way she did yesterday. And lastly, I don't even see her around college. For fucks sake, yesterday was the first time I saw her and I've been studying here for 2 fucking months! How fucking ridiculous, really. I was interrupted from my internal musings by JJ and Panda frantically waving their hands in front of me. I shook my head to get out of my trance.

"Are you okay, Emily?" JJ asked.

"Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry." I replied and he nodded once he was sure that I really was okay.

"It's fine, silly! JJ and I were just talking about our plans on Friday. You should come! What do you think?" Panda asked.

"What? What plans?" I asked.

"Well, we have this friend… His name is Freddie and he has a nice shed where we drink once in a while. I mean, where they drink because I don't really drink and it will just disrupt the effects of my medicines. I mean, that's not to say I haven't tried before, because I have and well-" JJ rambled and Panda and I shook him out of it.

"Getting locked on, JJ." I said once he had calmed down.

"Right. Sorry. My doctor gave me these new medicines and I think it isn't working, seeing as-"

"JJ!" Panda and I shouted at the same time.

"Sorry. Right. What I meant to say, without getting locked on, is that I think it's finally time for us to introduce you to the gang." He continued calmly this time, gulping and sighing once he was done.

"Yeah, okay… Sure. Sounds fun." I smiled at them and they beamed back.

"Whizzer! I'm telling Eff that you're coming! She'd be ecstatic, ain't that right JJ?"

"Yes, she will. Bring Katie with you." JJ replied.

"Thanks JJ, I will." I answered. "But Panda, who's Eff?" I asked, curious at to why she'd be ecstatic that I was going.

"She's my bestfriend, silly! I've been telling her all about you. You'll meet her on Friday." She answered and I just nodded dumbly because what else was there to say? "Whizzer! More friends! Now I can't wait!" Panda exclaimed and I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm.

"57, 58, 59… 30 minutes!" JJ shouted, making Panda and I jump in surprise. "Sorry. What I meant to say is, we have 30 minutes until Philosophy starts. And assuming we make our way there right now, we'd make it in 10 minutes, just in time to get good seats and just in time before the professor enters the classroom." Jesus, did he know what time all the students in class get in? And what time all his professors start their classes?

"Alright, let's go then. We wouldn't want to be late." I conceded. We all stood up and made our way to class.

I stayed quiet on the way over, observing the people around me and listening to JJ and Panda chatting about this guy named Tom? Thommo? Thommy? Whatever but I was sure the name starts with a T. As we passed by the gym doors, I heard the faint sound of a ball being dribbled. I immediately thought of Naomi, but thought better of it and shook my head out of it. It must be someone else, I thought. Good thing I could trust Panda to throw in the most random questions before I get too far in my head.

"You think he'll want to surf n' turf with me, Emily?" She asked.

"Surf n' turf?" I asked. I didn't know if this was strictly Panda language or really a term the English use. You see, for three years I've been surrounded by Americans. I only know some of the words English people use, but other than that, I still can't get a grip of what they mean. That's why in Roundview, it's so easy to differentiate me and Katie. Other than having different hair colour, a vibrant red for me and brunette with purple streaks in it for Katie… My sister still has her English accent in tact but can switch it off when she's talking to Americans, while I only have my American accent. Some people refer to me as 'the American one' in this college.

"You know, make monkey… sex?" She suggested. Ah. But I couldn't help but think about the faint sound of a ball being dribbled and just gave Panda an answer.

"Of course he will, Panda. He'd be a fool not to." I answered and smiled at her direction.

"Whizzer! He's a blinking dream!" I zoned out after that, still thinking about what I heard earlier when we passed through the gym doors. Finally, just when we were two big steps away from our classroom, I couldn't take it anymore. Something inside me was telling me that I had to be there.

"Look, I'll catch up with you guys later. I just need to get something." I didn't bother waiting for a reply and quickly headed to the gym. I looked at through the glass window of the gym's entrance and true enough, she was there. Before I knew it, I was already inside, watching the spectacle that was Naomi, playing basketball.

She was focused, too focused in fact… like she was inside her own bubble and no one could ever interrupt her no matter how hard they tried. She's good, I thought, more than good. If this was her daily routine, she'd give the other teams in the league a run for their money. I could see her clearly in my head, winning the Most Valuable Player award. I smiled at the image of it and thought, yeah that was highly likely to happen. I shook my head quickly though when I realized that I had been daydreaming about someone who I knew nothing about. Well, in my memory, knew nothing about. I haven't even talked to her yet. Jesus Christ, I'm acting like a student fangirling all over the famous high school jock. Katie's right, I'm such a fucking cliché. I shook my head again in an attempt to get out of my daydream and that's when I felt like someone was staring at me. I quickly averted my gaze to the direction I thought it was coming from and saw a slim brunette girl sat on one of the bleaches, staring at me.

She was beautiful… No, stunning would be more accurate. I've seen her quite a few times around college, but never for long. Just glimpses, but in those glimpses I never failed to notice how she had always managed to catch the attention of everyone around her, from both sexes. My train of thought stopped when I saw her smirking at me, like she knew what was running through my head… like she knew all my secrets. I felt a sense of panic and bolted out of the gym to get to class. Fuck, that was intense.

I opened the door to our class and headed to my seat between JJ and Panda. I felt myself slowly relaxing. Just then I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. Shit, that must be Katie.

_Ems, you bitch! You took all the hot water! And thanks for not waking me up, I'm fucking late you twat! _

And it was Katie… I smiled and quickly thumbed a reply:

_Sorry Kay, but you were snoring for the whole of England. I didn't want to wake you up. And hey, it's not my fault you sleep like a log! Xx _

I placed my phone down but immediately picked it up when it vibrated, signalling Katie's reply.

_Remind me again why I was so nice to you last night? _

I rolled my eyes. She's really not a morning person.

_You know you love me, you grumpy tit. Get your ass in here! And btw, got invited to a house party. Said I could bring you along. What do you think? X_

I put my phone down and reached for my bag, taking out the books I need for the subject just in time for the professor to enter the classroom. I checked my phone when it vibrated again and chuckled at the response.

_Best idea I've heard all week! Xx_

* * *

The next two days passed with no incident. My family's driving me insane. My mother Jenna, who still doesn't know I'm gay, wouldn't stop pestering me why I hadn't brought any boy home. For a very conservative mother, she's fucking persistent to get me laid. My father Rob, on the other hand, is still a push over. My darling sister Katie's back to being a pain in the ass. And James, my little brother, is still a pervy little bastard. As for college, I haven't seen Naomi around. I tried going to school early the next day just in case she'd be in the gym practicing, but she wasn't there. Not an everyday thing then, I had thought.

Today though, or should I say tonight, found me waiting for Katie to finish doing her hair and make up. She hasn't even decided on an outfit yet! Jesus, you'd think we were going to the club and not a fucking shed tonight.

"I'd just like to remind you again that we're going to a shed… not a club." I said, annoyed at how long it's taking her to get ready.

"Yeah, so?" She replied while applying eyeliner. I rolled my eyes.

"So? Do you have to take two fucking hours to get ready for a night out in a shed?"

"Ems, shed or not shed, it's important for me to look fit, yeah? God, it's like you don't know me at all." She asked, choosing her outfit for the night.

"I thought you had a boyfriend?"

"Who? Danny? I dumped him. He was shit in bed anyway. Huge cock, but doesn't know how to use it. Christ, he can't even fucking lick me good and proper." She said while wearing her chosen outfit for tonight.

I cringed. "Thanks, but I don't think I need to know why he's shit in bed."

She chuckled. "God Ems, you need a shag. When are you going to pull all the ladies in Bristol? You're a Fitch, yeah? Use it!"

"Because unlike you, I don't want it all to be about fucking." I said, rolling my eyes for good measure.

"You're such a sap." She said, finishing her final touches. She turned around and looked at me. Fuck, I knew what was coming. "Ems? What the fuck are you wearing?" I rolled my eyes, I knew it. Katie was dressed in a tight black dress that hugged her figure in all the right places, whereas I was wearing a black cardigan over a grey tee, blue jeans and black converse.

"For the nth time, Katie… It's just a shed!" I said, exasperated from all the waiting.

"God, you're hopeless. Let's go then." She said and strutted out of the room. I rolled my eyes and followed suit.

We got to Freddie's shed around 8:30, which meant that we were thirty minutes late. As Katie and I entered the shed, all of them looked at us. A tall lanky boy with olive skin was looking at us with wide eyes, obviously stoned. Another, with a sandy blonde hair was grinning wide at us. And the last guy, dark skinned looked at us with a friendly smile. When the boy with the sandy blonde hair approached us, that's when I noticed the figure sitting on the couch. There sat the brunette girl I saw two days ago in the gym, still staring at me with that all-knowing smirk, that's becoming all too annoying. Thankfully, JJ took this time to introduce us, making me look away from the brunette.

"Right. This is Emily and Katie, twins… well, obviously. Their English but they came from the states." JJ said.

"Hi. Thomas. It is so nice to meet you." The dark skinned with a friendly smile approached us first, shaking both Katie and I's hands.

"Likewise." Katie and I replied at the same time, making us look at each other and roll our eyes.

"Freddie. Welcome to my shed." The tall lanky boy with olive skin approached us, shaking both Katie and I's hands just like how Thomas did. I could practically feel my sister gawking at him even though I wasn't looking. I suppose I can't blame her, he was good looking after all, even though he wasn't exactly Katie's type. He was obviously a skater dude.

"Hi. Katie Fitch. So, is there where you all get fucked up?" My darling sister threw herself in front of him and they immediately set off with their conversation as they walked to sit on the couch. I rolled my eyes for the umpteenth time. That's Katie for you, always on the pull. Just then I heard a whistle beside me and I looked to find the sandy blonde hair looking at me with hungry eyes. Fucking great.

"James Cook. Or Cook as everyone calls me. But you, my lady friend, can call me anytime." He said, finishing with a wink.

"I'll just settle for Cook, thanks." I replied dismissively, making him guffaw in laughter.

"Feisty, I like it. Any chance you and your darlin' sister there could make a sandwich, with me in it?" He asked waggling his tongue at me, making me cringe and shake my head. "No? How 'bout just you and me, let's get together and feel alright?" God, he doesn't give up, does he? I was about to reply when someone else did it for me.

"Fuck off, Cook." I looked at the source of the voice, to see none other than Miss Smirk-All-You-Can. "Effy." She said, holding her hand out for me to shake. Oh, so she's Panda's bestfriend. For some reason, it was odd to think of them as friends. This girl looked like the kind of girl who wouldn't even dare talk to someone like Panda.

"Emily." I said, shaking her hands, to which she just smirked wider at me.

"So." She started. "You're the American one then?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Yeah, I guess you can say that."

"Interesting." She said, finally looking at all the unopened beer bottles. "Well, feel free to help yourself."

"Thanks, I will." I answered, making my way past her to the bottles but stopped when I heard her speak again.

"She's coming." She said cryptically while lighting herself a joint.

"What?" I asked, furrowing my brows at her. She just smirked at me and walked to the direction of the couch, holding a bottle of vodka and a joint on her other hand. Not even five minutes of knowing her and this woman was already doing my head in.

"Alright, ladies and gents? LET'S GET FOOKIN' MENTAL!" Cook bellowed and I was thankful for the distraction.

And fucked up, we did. For the past hour, we've been chatting and getting to know each other. Besides Cook being repulsive, I was told that he was Roundview's rising star in the football team. I guess it made sense; in fact he really looked like someone who played the game, and was really good at it. Thomas, on the other hand, was part of Roundview's Track and Field team. I was told that he… and I quote _'runs like a dog.' _Freddie doesn't have any clubs, just like yours truly. In fact, he just called himself a professional stoner, which he was, right at this moment.

I looked around us and smiled, feeling happy for some reason… like somehow, I had finally found the group I was meant to be in. I didn't know if it was the joint, or spliff as they call it here, doing all its wonders… or the buzz of the alcohol, but I was feeling happy. And for the first time, socializing wasn't a problem.

"JJ, do you know where the restroom is?" I asked, needing to pee all the alcohol out.

"Oh. You'll see a door across from the shed, enter that and the first room to the right is your place." He answered. He was probably the only sober person in the shed. Instead of drinking alcohol, he was drinking orange juice… said it helped to calm him down. He didn't even smoke anything, cigarette or joint… Nada. But I guess it was all down to his medicines.

I stood up then and made my way to the door. Just as I was about to close the door behind me and head towards the door across from the shed, I bumped into someone.

"_Oof!" _

"Sorry!" I said but quickly realized who I was apologizing to. The one and only Naomi Campbell. I couldn't help myself and looked at her form properly. She was wearing a plain white tee under a leather black letterman jacket, blue jeans and black converse. I looked at her again, this time from toe to head. This girl could dress up in whatever she liked and still look just as beautiful. She cleared her throat and I realized I had just thoroughly checked her out. Shit, nice one Emily. I looked at her to see her smirking at me.

"Are you quite done yet?" She asked, finding my situation amusing. Jesus, just hearing her voice made my knees go weak.

"Sorry. I just... I…" Good lord, when had I turned into a stuttering mess? That's right, when a beautiful blonde named Naomi Campbell spoke to me, asking me if I was done perving yet. Fucking hell. I couldn't help but look at her properly this time. Bottle blonde hair tied into a ponytail, stunning ocean blue eyes, straight nose and pink lips. I felt, rather than consciously know, myself licking my lips. I looked up again, not wanting to get caught when I realized she was checking me out, drinking me in just as I did to her a while ago. I allowed myself to smirk. I wasn't the only one then.

"Are you quite done yet?" I asked, throwing back her line from earlier. She shook her head and cleared her throat.

"Sorry. You seem to inspire the perv in me." She said confidently this time, making me blush. We just stared at each other for a good minute before I realized why I was out here in the first place. The restroom!

"I need to go to the… uh… restroom." I said, pointing to the direction of the Freddie's house.

"Oh, right. Of course, go ahead. First door to the right."

"Yep, I know. Thanks!" I walked faster to get away from the most awkward situation of my life and to avoid looking like a right tart in front of her, but stopped when I heard her speak.

"Actually, I need to talk to you." She said. I turned around to see her smiling sheepishly at me while scratching her head. "Go ahead, I'll wait for you here." She continued and I nodded, heading to the restroom.

* * *

We've been standing next to each other for 10 minutes, not one of us daring to break the awkward silence that had come over us. I wanted to say something, to get it all out of the way so I could spend the rest of the night getting fucked up, but for some reason or another, I just couldn't. I could tell that the same thing was happening to her. From the corner of my eye, I could see her opening and closing her mouth. God, I needed a cigarette. For fucks sake, I don't even smoke one! Thankfully and surprisingly, she was the first one to break the silence.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for running out on you after the game. It's just… I don't know, it was all too much at that time. I'm sorry for not giving you the chance to say something, I was a tit and-" I interrupted her with an apology of my own.

"It's fine, if anything I should be the one sorry. Just because of a stupid accident, you had to get hurt like that. I really can't blame you for what you did. I would have done the same thing if I were you. I'm really sorry." I said.

"Don't be stupid." She said. "It's not your fault you got into an accident." I couldn't help but smile at her. She smiled back at me. And we did just that for another minute or so. We both shook our heads out of it and I saw her pull out a pack of cigarettes and light one. She offered me her pack, but I shook my head.

"You do know that's not good for you, right?" I asked, not helping myself but to comment.

She looked up at me and took a puff of her cigarette then flashed me a smile. "Still a health nut, then?" She took another puff and continued when I didn't answer her. "I only smoke once a week, or twice, depends really. I only smoke when I'm stressed."

"So having me around is stressing you out, then?" I smirked and she chuckled, stubbing her now finished cigarette.

"You make me nervous, is all."

"Makes two of us." I answered and we shared a laugh over our ridiculousness. Soon, we were once again enveloped in silence. Only this time, it was comfortable. Once in a while we'd steal glances at each other and smile when we catch the other looking. I wouldn't have dared to destroy the moment, but I felt like something was eating me up and I couldn't help but break the silence.

"If it was up to me, I wouldn't you know?" I said, making her furrow her brows at me in confusion. "Forget, I mean. I wouldn't dare."

She flashed me that smile again and I felt my stomach flip, just like the first time I saw her. "I know you wouldn't. I… I didn't think. I just assumed right away… And I'm really sorry about that" She said, looking down at her hands. I couldn't help but reach out and hold her hand.

"It's okay." I said. She looked at our hands then smiled at me.

"Friends?" She asked. And for some reason, I felt a pang of disappointment at her suggestion. I didn't know where it came from, but I knew I was dead meat.

"Yeah, okay… I'd like that." I said, nodding along to her suggestion. I felt her squeeze my hand before she released it.

"We better get inside before they come looking for us." She suggested.

"You're right. Katie's probably looking for me already. Let's go." I said and we entered the shed.

The rest of the night was spent getting monumentally fucked up, chatting amicably with each other… Or in my case, with Naomi. She really was fun to talk to. More so, she was a fun drunk. And I found myself admiring her even more. I had finally admitted to myself that I was having a stupid crush on her, which I hoped would disappear but knew deep inside me wouldn't be the case. But if friendship is all I'll ever get from her, then I wouldn't deny myself that.

What caught my attention was Katie and Effy, who seemed to have gotten along quite surprisingly, seeing as Effy was the type of person Katie would compete with to get the attention of all the lads. But I really can't complain, not when Katie and I have finally found ourselves a group of misfits that we have easily become a part of. By the end of the night, all of us have exchanged numbers and all of them have invited Katie and I over to their lunch table, which was really nice. I couldn't help but finally see the light in all of this. Sure, I haven't gotten all the answers I've been looking for. But I finally felt like I was home.

* * *

**Thank you to those who have dropped reviews! You guys are awesome, you definitely make me want to keep updating. :) **

**Anyway, what do you think? **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hello again. This will probably be my last update for 2013… This chapter is sort of a filler chapter, necessary for what's going to happen next (if ever). So it's not really a happy chapter, but not really a sad one either. **

**Again, no promises about this chapter being a good one. And no promises of chapter 6 either. I feel like no one's really reading this story, that's why if you're reading this one, I do suggest that you drop some reviews so I would know. Or PM me. If people aren't really into this one, which is understandably my fault, I won't continue this anymore. As a few of you may have noticed, I already deleted my other story, because I figured just as much. And for those who have been reading, thank you so much. Especially those who have dropped reviews… I want you all to know that I appreciate what you all say. Yes, even you mardycure, I had to translate what you commented so I would understand. Thank you so much for the kind words! Gracias! **

**Anyway, enough of that. More Naomily! Or should I say more basketball?**

* * *

Naomi

The last few days were uneventful to say the least. Saturday, the day after getting fucked up at Freddie's shed, was spent trying to nurse my bitch of a hangover. Sunday, I spent playing basketball with a bunch of randoms by the court near our house. Monday and Tuesday were the same old boring day, with basketball training every night. The only interesting part was the new addition to our gang of misfits: the Fitch twins.

They have been joining us for lunch since Monday, which was rather nice. Their addition to the gang just made lunch time more enjoyable. The non-stop bickering in the group have raised to a whole new level and watching the twins argue was actually really hilarious. Add to that the fact that they both have different accents, Katie being the English twin and Emily being the American twin. It's amusing how Emily tries to mock Katie's accent when she's too exasperated to argue back. It's all the more amusing how the group just watches them without the intention of breaking the twins apart. Nonetheless, having them over was refreshing. It was like they have always been meant to be a part of us.

Katie and Effy's friendship surprised us the most. They get on like a house on fire that sometimes I think Effy doesn't even know me anymore. If Katie wasn't the most heterosexual human being alive, I would have thought that those two had spent the last few days shagging. I wouldn't say that that's highly unlikely to happen because Effy has this uncanny ability to draw people in; to make people want her… and that goes for both sexes. If you think you're the straightest person alive, you might want to hold that thought until you meet the gaze and the smirk of Effy Stonem. And yes, I've had my fair share of experience. Only then I was already coming to terms with my sexuality. I suppose you could say that Effy just gave me the badge, making me accept that I really was gay. She was a fantastic shag, one of the best or the best if I may even say so. But it was something we neither repeated nor talked about. After that night, we spent the next day as if nothing happened between us. That's why if there's someone out there who knows me best, it's Effy; my bestfriend who has temporarily forgotten about me due to one Katie Fitch. I'm not complaining though, because with Katie, comes one Emily Fitch; the bestfriend that I had lost and the friend I was currently starting over with.

Talking with her that night at Freddie's shed seemed to had set off my nervous system. I became a nervous wreck. I had a whole lot of things I wanted to say but those quickly disappeared when I bumped into her on her way out of the shed. Seeing her check me out gave me chills on my spine, but pleased me nonetheless. _Definitely gay_, I had thought that night. But I quickly shook my head out of it then ended up checking her out as well. What? Can you blame me? She was beautiful. And more than once I had found myself imagining myself with her… going out on dates, laughing at each other's jokes, telling each other secrets that we'd never tell to anyone else, kissing each other senseless, and even touching her in the most intimate places. At first I thought it was all because I haven't had a shag since Sophia started stalking me that I became tempted to pull someone and scratch an itch. But as the days went by, and after getting to know her quite a bit, I realized that it wasn't just me needing to scratch an itch. It was because I was having a crush on Emily.

Emily makes me feel things I have never felt towards anyone. I'm not sure where it came from and I'm not sure if it's a good thing. But the one thing I'm sure of? I'm scared. I'm fucking scared. The things she makes me feel make me want to run for the hills, but at the same time I yearn to spend the rest of my days with her. I yearn for her presence. I know I shouldn't be feeling these things because it would only result to me getting distracted… add to that the fact that our friendship is still strained. I wouldn't want what I felt for her to ruin what we have right now, even with the possibility of her feeling the same. I needed to get my focus on my studies and basketball, but I was finding it harder to do so. Except today, Wednesday, I was fighting hard to get my focus back. It was game day after all.

Today, we will be playing against Bristol Cathedral Choir School, or simply 'Lions' as they are called in the league. They were said to be the worst in the league for the most obvious reasons, but I knew better than to relax and take this game easy. Every year is a different year. After all, Roundview Dragons was never part of the top teams in this league, but is now considered as one of the league's top competitors. I thought it was too early to say so, seeing as we've only had one game for this season. But so many people have already placed their bets on us, which only added pressure to Anthea and the team. I was proud to say that the last two practices of basketball have been the best. Anthea had a knack for distributing the pressure that was weighing on our shoulders to our plays. Even though she uses sexual innuendos to coach us, she was bloody good at it.

But I digress; today as I've said was our game day. I was excited to play for the whole gang but unfortunately, Cook also has his first scheduled football game today which meant that the group will be divided. I was currently with them at our lunch table; talking about the one time Cook got suspended a month ago for punching the jerk that had tried to bully JJ. That's one thing you should know about Cook. Yes, he was repulsive and he's been trying it on with Katie and Emily even though he constantly fails. But when someone tries to hurt his family, US… he sees red. I was pretty sure JJ's bully wouldn't even come close to bullying someone else, judging by the long line of scar above his left eye.

I was sat between the twins, Emily to my left and Katie to my right. And of course, Effy was beside her. See what I mean? It's either they're really good friends or they're shagging. But whatever, for some reason, I needed to know who will be watching my game today and I found myself wishing Emily would.

"So… who will be watching Cook's game today?" I asked the group. I received two raised hands; one from Freddie and one from JJ, which was what I expected. I was surprised though when Panda raised her hands hesitantly, along with Thomas.

"Blimey, watching basketball is super… It's mega fun. But Thommo here wanted to bring me along to the game and I promised to come already, while I was coming-" Panda said and I cut her off before she gets to the filthy details.

"Ok Panda! It's ok… I understand." I gave her a smile to reassure her that it was really okay and she nodded back. I turned to the other three who didn't raise their hands, "what about you guys?" I asked.

"I'll watch you." Emily answered, giving me a shy smile.

"Like I have a choice." Katie answered, rolling her eyes.

Effy just shrugged at me, which meant that she'll watch my game.

"I have to go, but I'll see you three later, yeah?" I said as I stood up and made a beeline for Cook. "Good luck, mate." I whispered to him, hugging him from behind. He might not show it, but I knew that winning his first game was important to him. He stood up and turned around to give me a proper hug.

"Thanks, mate. Show them what you got, yeah?" He whispered and patted my back. I nodded then pulled away from him, walking to the direction of my class and giving the group a wave, earning me some 'Goodluck Naomi!' and 'bye!' from the group.

I was halfway to my classroom when I heard someone running from behind me. I chanced a look to see Emily trying to catch up on me. I stopped walking then so as not to give her a hard time.

"Emily, you ok?" I asked as she stopped in front of me.

"I wanted to give you something." She replied in between pants.

"Oh" was the only reply I could think of as she unzipped her bag and produced a red wrist sweatband.

"I know it's nothing, but I saw this when I was shopping with Katie during the weekend and thought you might need it." She explained nervously. I got the wristband from her and wore it on my left, twisting my arm to get a good look at it. "I could return it though if you don't like it, you know, it was just a spur of the moment kind of thing." She continued, biting her lip. I chanced a look and found myself wanting to pull on her bottom lip. Oh the things I want to do with her lips… I shook my head again to focus and allowed myself to smile at her. Fucks sake, she's making it harder for me not to like her.

"I like it, I really really like it. Thanks Ems." I said, the nickname rolling off my tongue before I knew it. I was rewarded with one of her genuine smiles; the ones that make her look more beautiful than she already was.

"I'll see you later. Go get them Campbell!" She winked and ran to the direction of her class, giving me one cute wave before turning left to her class.

I found myself grinning like a loon. _Jesus_, I thought, _she's just too adorable not to like. _I shook my head out of it and tried to get myself to focus for my last class before game time.

* * *

It was currently halftime, with our team leading the Lions 35-25. So far I have contributed 6 points and 2 assists, with me spending most of my time on the bench. Apparently my stunt last week of leaving the team after the game was a big no no for Anthea and this was her way of teaching me a lesson. I wouldn't even start the 3rd quarter with the other players I was with in the starting line up. I didn't complain though, seeing as our team can handle the game without me. But Christ I wanted to play so bad. I made a mental note never to leave right away after the game.

I was nervous, but not for the reason I had been during the first game, but because of the girl that was sat two rows behind our bench with two of my other friends. For some reason I wanted to play hard for Emily. More than once I had found myself twisting the sweatband she gave me, which only fuelled my desire to win this game. The only problem was I was sat at the bench. Add to that the fact that Sophia has also been given time deduction for leaving the game early, for what reason I'll never know and which only meant I had spent most of my time on the bench with her. Thankfully, Emily, Katie and Effy have made it tolerable enough, standing behind me to talk for a bit or bringing me water whenever I needed it.

Just then, the referee whistled, signalling the start of the 3rd quarter. It was our ball and I watched as Liv crossed the half court, playing her role as the point guard of the team's line-up for the quarter. I can see her mentally making plays by the way she was thoroughly checking out our team's positions and the defense of the other team. She did a crossover and passed the ball over to Ford, who was positioned to her right by the three-point arc, and immediately cut her way to the basket. Ford threw the ball, making it look like she was going for a three point shot, but was actually an alley-oop pass to Liv as Liv catches the ball mid-air for a lay-up and scores, 37-25.

"So… I see you're now friends with the famous English/American twins." Sophia said, breaking my reverie. I looked over to her to see her smirking at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, so?" I asked coolly, looking away to watch the game and to see that the other team has scored a three point shot, 37-28.

"The American one." She started and I looked at her, curious as to what she has to say. "She's quite the looker, isn't she?" I shrugged in reply, not wanting to give her satisfaction with whatever she wants.

"So? What do you want, Sophia?" I asked, looking away to find out that the other team has been catching up on us by scoring another three point shot, 37-31.

"I want her." She replied. I turned my head to look at her so fast that I was surprised I didn't get any whiplash and saw her smiling smugly whilst pretending to watch the game. "I bet behind that innocent exterior is a girl who isn't so innocent in bed." She said, this time turning her head to look at me. "I've wanted to test that theory though ever since I heard about them. I bet you'd want the same thing, don't you Campbell?" She asked, tilting her head.

I found myself tightening my jaw, seething at her words. I didn't know where it came from, but I felt a surge of jealousy run through me at the thought of Sophia shagging Emily. I wanted to scream at her so bad. I wanted to punch her. But I didn't want to look like she hit a nerve, even though I was practically balling my fists.

"Moore, Campbell… get the hell out of here and fuck those bitches hard!" Trust Anthea and her timing. I stood up right away and headed to the court, not wanting to be anywhere near Sophia at the moment. I was pretty sure I could throw a punch at her direction any time soon.

I looked at the score board to keep in check and saw that Sophia has done a great deal of distracting me. The score was already tied at 37, hence the substitution. I positioned myself at the baseline and took the inbound pass from Underwood. I crossed the half court, finding myself distracted with images of Sophia shagging Emily. I tried shaking myself out of it to focus on making plays as I was playing point guard, but found myself failing. Everywhere I looked I saw images of Sophia flirting with Emily, Sophia snogging Emily, Sophia shagging Emily and Emily letting her do all those things… that I wasn't able to anticipate my defender's defense as she snatched the ball out of my hands and ran towards their basket. I ran after her but to no avail, as she successfully scored a lay-up, resulting to their team leading us, 37-39.

The next plays weren't any better, as I found myself dishing out lazy passes, shooting unnecessary three point shots (and missing all of them), making fouls and not passing the ball to Sophia, who coincidentally happened to be the only player who was always free to take shots. I was playing a selfish game but I didn't know why. All I knew was that I was angry and I was scared, because what if Sophia does get to Emily before I even get to her? After my 3rd foul in the 3rd quarter, Liv approached me with a glare.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Campbell?" She hissed at me, and continued when I didn't respond, "Moore has been free all this time and the ball hasn't touched her even just once. We could have been leading now if you weren't so selfish! Do you even know the score?" I found myself looking around for the score board and discovered that the Lions were already leading by 11 points, 39-50 with 30 seconds left in the 3rd quarter.

"Dragons substitution, O'Bryan for Campbell." A spectator announced.

"Sit down and sort your shit out, Campbell." Liv said, softer this time as she shook her head at me and walked away to continue the game.

I walked to the direction of our bench and looked at the score board, and found that the player I fouled had shot her free throw shots, resulting in a 13 point lead, 39-51. Fucking hell, this was not how I wanted to play this game. I was stopped by a hand that was placed on my chest and I looked up to find Anthea fixing me a steely glare.

"What in the name of cunting fuck has got your knickers in a twist, girl?" She asked, grabbing a fistful of my team singlet. Thankfully, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the direction of our locker room. Once out of sight from the court, I chanced a look to find Effy standing in front of me with her arms crossed. I sighed and covered my face with both of my hands.

"What did Sophia tell you?" She asked. I balled my fists as I remembered the things that Sophia had said. Effy grabbed both of my fists and caressed her thumbs over my knuckles, making me relax my fists. "Naomi, look at me." I sighed again and put my hands down before looking at her. "It's about Emily, isn't it?"

Of course she knew. She knew everything. It didn't annoy me though. I expected this to come sooner enough, but this was not the way I imagined it to be. I don't know if I was just obvious or if it was because she was Effy. But either way, I knew I was fucked.

"You like her." It wasn't a question; it was a clear statement from Effy. And although I already knew that she knew, I found myself wanting to say no. But of course she beat me to it. "Truth."

"I'm scared, Eff." I sighed in exasperation. "I'm scared of losing her again."

"Why can't you forgive yourself?" She asked and I furrowed my brows at her question. "Look at you. You don't let other people love you. You don't let yourself love other people… all because you're scared of losing someone." I snorted.

"You're one to talk." I snapped.

"The only difference between us now Naomi, is that I'm already letting someone in." She said and like a light bulb has been switched in my head at the sudden realization of what she was on about. Or more likely, who.

"Katie." I said. "You really like her, don't you?" I asked and she nodded. "And… does she like you back?"

"No… I mean, I don't know. But you know more than anyone that no one can resist me." She replied with a smirk and I couldn't help but chuckle. Who would have thought that it would only take the Fitch twins to break through Effy and I's walls?

"You have to forgive yourself, Naomi. I did. And I've never been happier." She said seriously this time. She placed her hands on my shoulders and continued, "It's not your fault you lost her before. So let it go, Naoms. Forgive yourself." And I felt myself nodding in reply.

"So what do I do? I mean, what if Sophia gets to her first?" I asked.

"Simple. Ask her out." She answered nonchalantly, walking to the direction of the court.

"What if she says no?" I asked, following suit. She just gave me that smirk, which meant the end of our conversation. Bitch.

* * *

I didn't play anymore for the rest of the game. Fortunately, with my absence, our team was able to cop the win at 60-58, beating the Lions and resulting to a 2-0 run for the team. Despite being embarrassed with my performance, I didn't leave right after the game. I stayed as the team celebrated in the locker room, but not before apologizing and promising to play harder next game, which was two days from now and would be held at the other team's court. Fortunately again, for me, the team accepted my apology and told me that it happens to everyone. I felt a huge weight off my shoulders, not only because they understood, but also because of my talk with Effy.

She was right, of course. I was subconsciously blaming myself for the past three years when I lost Emily. And because of it, I never let anyone in. It didn't mean I had forgiven myself though, but I was working hard on it. Besides, what else can I do? I was already in too deep, aren't I? I might as well take the plunge and go for it, and thought, _the next time I see her… I'll ask her out. I'll ask Emily to go out on a date with me._

* * *

**So what do you think? Still worth a go? **


	6. Author's Note

Hello! Sorry to disappoint but this isn't really an update, although I really wanted to, it's just that I'm not sure how to approach the next chapter yet. I have some vague ideas, but it needs some thinking through and I think you deserve far better than the ones I've thought of so far. But yes, with that said, I am going to push through with this story.

I'm sorry I even thought of not continuing it in the first place, I guess I just needed the right push, yeah? And well, you guys did, so I will! BUT… not this year. As some of you may remember, I mentioned something about going on a trip to Indonesia. And… my flight leaves tonight. Hopefully the trip will help spark up some ideas for the story. I mean, I really do hope so! I fucking love Naomily. I'll be back early morning on the 8th of January, but I won't really be able to update right away because the very next day I have college. Boo-fucking-hoo, right? :( but the trip is long over due, because my classes really resume on the 6th, so I have to catch up on some work, seeing as it's nearly our midterms. But of course I'll try to squeeze in the writing if I get struck with inspiration. Until then, I really need your help, to those who are reading the story… to pray to whoever God you believe in that I get all the right ideas and patch them up for chapter 6 and the rest of the story. Especially as someone commented about the feelings being too fast… I want you to know that I agree with you, but who said anything about making it easy for Naomily to be together? ;) as much as I love them, they deserve more than a quick shag on the court then lovey dovey confessions, don't they?

So… this is really just a thank you for those who said so much kind words about the story having so much potential and how the story made you have an interest in basketball, and more. Thank you to those who are still reading, who read but didn't find it interesting enough to stick through, and to those who will be reading… thank you all so much. I want you all guys to know that when I had this story in mind, I thought it was completely hideous. I even thought I wrote the game in the first chapter so terribly and reading comments like the game was well written and all that made my heart swell. It's very humbling to know that just through writing a story, I can make some of you happy.

Off with the rambling then… if anyone wants to keep in touch, I'm just a PM away.

I hope you guys had a merry merry Christmas! And I do hope you guys enjoy the rest of the holidays, it's far from over!


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hi hi hi! How have you all been? I'm sorry I haven't been able to update right away. But I tried, I promise! I hope you all had an amazing break, because I had the most amazing one thus far. BALI is definitely the place for you to go soul searching. I love it there already and I really wish I could come back right away if not only for school. But! Enough about that. This one's a really short one and I'm not really sure I like it. I'm not even sure you'll like it. **

**I didn't have time to check for errors, so all errors are all my fault**

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Naomi

I woke the next day with a start, excited and nervous about the prospect of asking Emily out on a date. I've never been on one and I haven't even thought of a solid plan, assuming she says yes. I have some vague ideas, like maybe it would be wise to get to know her more on familiar grounds, like at my house. I thought it would be better if we stayed in and watched a movie just to keep things more private and intimate, not physically, mind. I may have had the reputation of shagging around, but Emily is worth more than a shag, that much I know from how much I knew of her for the past week. That's not to say I don't desire her, because I do… anyone who doesn't would be blind not to. Plus, I figured it would also be a way for Emily to get to know me more. Maybe I could even show her how we were like before the accident happened. That's what dates are for anyway, aren't they? Getting to know each other? Nothing was final yet. In the end, I thought it best to play it by ear, with back-up plans in mind just in case things get fucked up.

I stood up from the bed and headed for the shower. I dressed up in my usual school attire, a plain tee, jeans and black converse because I honestly couldn't be bothered to dress up for school every bloody day. It gets tiring. I hitched my Nike duffel bag on my shoulder and headed out of my room.

I could smell something from the kitchen, which meant that mum was awake. She had been trying to keep tabs on Emily to the point that it gets annoying. Sometimes I think I should kidnap Emily and drop her off in my mum's bedroom just so I could get her off my back. I was surprised that as I peered in the kitchen, she just smiled sweetly at me and went about with her cooking activities instead of her daily routine of asking me endless questions about Emily and basketball. I was so confused that I stood there for fuck knows how long with my brows furrowed, thinking who the fuck this woman is and where did she bring Gina Campbell? I shook my head instead and started walking out the door and headed to school.

* * *

English was a bore as usual. And I honestly don't know how Josie was accepted as a teacher in this shithole. Honestly? Can't they see that she's a fucking basket case? She teaches the whole class whilst talking to her non-existent puppet Gerald, for fucks sake. It's a good thing I knew Hamlet by heart, what with Gina feeding me with books to read whilst I was young. Effy and I were the only ones who were actively participating, or more so correcting Josie's interpretation of Hamlet in class. That's the thing with Effy. She may have the habit of getting fucked up everyday, but she's fucking smart. Not so much as she gets all A's in her class, but enough to know shit.

We don't talk during class, opting to exchange smirks, eye rolls and sighs to get through the class. And even if we did, I knew I wouldn't be able to talk to her properly. I was getting jumpy and nervous about asking Emily out. I kept thinking that maybe it was too soon, that maybe she won't say yes, or worse… that maybe Sophia already beat me to it. The latter thought making me more fidgety by the minute.

"Fucking finally" I muttered as the bell rings soon enough and I couldn't have been more thankful for it. I made a quick exit with Effy floating in tow. We walked towards the fields in silence, where Effy and I usually spend our 30 minute break, or more like grace period, talking about nothing in particular. Or just sitting there with each other, whilst she smoked. Sometimes Cook would join us, but most of the time it's just us. And I hoped to whatever deity exists that it would just be me and Effy. I kind of need the silence right now.

We sat down once we reached our usual place by the big tree near the field. As Effy produced her box of cancer sticks and got herself one, I snatch it from her and get one for myself too. She narrowed her eyes at me for a second before putting back her mask. I knew I wasn't off the hook, but I was glad she didn't feel the need to ask right away. Like I said a while ago, I need silence. I was about to take my final puff when she finally spoke.

"You're asking her out." She said disinterestedly, whilst lighting herself another fag. I coughed on the smoke I had just inhaled and immediately stubbed my fag. How the fuck does she do that?

"I guess you can say that." I replied once I've recovered from my coughing fit.

She raised her eyebrows at this and smirked as she continued to finish off her fag. She stood up and hitched her bag on her shoulder, leaving me confused because we still have 15 minutes left before our next class together. And we usually go there together. I stood up next to her with a look on my face that must have written confused all over it. She reached inside her bag, grabbed another stick, lit it up and gave the stick to me.

"You can thank me later." She smirked as she walked towards the direction of her class. _OUR class. _ I watched her for a few seconds and just before she reached the side entrance, she turned around and called me "Oh, and Campbell?" I raised my eyebrows at her and she continued, "Stop thinking with your feet this time, will you? Give yourself this chance before someone else gets it from you."

She turned around again and entered the side entrance, disappearing from my view. I found myself with my brows furrowed in confusion for the third time today, thinking what the bloody fuck just happened? And what the fuck was up with Effy being extra cryptic today? But despite the confusion, the only thing I heard was the last part. _Give yourself this chance before someone else gets it from you. _And the only thing I could think of at this moment was the possibility that Sophia had already asked Emily out.

I usually don't see her around until lunch. Hoping against hope that I would bump into Emily and get a chance to talk with her even if it was just for a minute, I became more determined. And just as I was headed to class, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and almost believed that miracles exist. Almost. There stood Emily, looking beautiful as always with her hair down and her fringe on the side, holding some of her books with her free hand. It would have been a perfect sight, only beside her stood Sophia with a smug look on her face.

"Hi!" Emily said with the brightest smile on her face. A smile I hoped and wished Sophia didn't put on her pretty face.

"Hi" I replied looking at Emily. "Sophia." I nodded at her in acknowledgement as she just returned it with a wider smirk. "I didn't know you guys already knew each other." I tried to make it sound casual, but deep inside I was already having a panic attack. Fuck! What if she already asked her out? I looked into my hands and find that the fag Effy lit for me was almost done. So I took a much needed puff before stubbing it out as I waited for their answer.

"Same form." Sophia replied nonchalantly to me and turned to Emily. "I better get going. See you in class?" Emily nodded in reply and Sophia smiled at this. She bent down and gave Emily a peck on the cheek then turned around to head for her class after shooting me a wink.

I felt a pang of jealousy and I could practically feel my fists balling but tried controlling myself. I can't let her win this one. I turned back to Emily, who was blushing and biting her lip, which meant that she was embarrassed or shy about something. I just kept looking at her, waiting for her to look up at me. And when she did, I just raised my eyebrows at her.

"What was that all about?" I asked, surprised at how much I had levelled my voice considering how much I was shaking inside.

"Nothing" she said and walked towards the direction of the side entrance. I walk alongside with her and she continued. "She asked me out." I paused at this piece of information, feeling my whole vision darken.

"She what?!" I yelled forgetting for a moment to control myself. She flinched and eyed me curiously but answered me nonetheless.

"She asked me out on a date." She repeated and I had to fight hard to control my jealousy.

"And?" I asked and she shrugged.

"I haven't really given her an answer yet." I allowed myself to make a momentary dance inside my head before focusing at the task at hand.

"Well… Do you like her?" I asked her as we continued to walk through the entrance and along the hallway. Hoping against hope she would answer no.

"Yes… I mean, no. Not in that I want to spend the rest of my life with you kind of way. And not in that I want to be your girlfriend kind of way either. She's nice, but I just don't feel IT with her, you know?" She replied and I was practically punching the air with my fists in my head already when she spoke again.

"But it wouldn't hurt to say yes, would it?" She asked and I thought it was rhetorical until she nudged me on my ribs looking at me with a questioning look. Oh, she was waiting for an answer.

Believe me when I say I wanted so bad to say that it would hurt to say yes. Believe me when I say I wanted so bad to tell her all about what happened between me and Sophia. Believe me when I say I wanted so bad to tell her that Sophia had been trying to get me to bed with her for the past month and that she was probably doing this to get back at me. I wanted to say everything I could say just for her to refuse this date. But I knew if I did, I'd feel it in my conscience. As much as I like Emily to be mine and only mine, it wouldn't be fair on Sophia. If I did, I would have just admitted I didn't stand against Sophia and instead opted to out her in the open without even giving her a chance to prove herself to Emily. I owed it to Sophia to do that to Emily, even though I knew that there was a chance Emily would get hurt in the process. I wanted to be fair. Aren't I the queen hater of injustice? So I gave Emily the answer she was looking for but I hoped she wasn't hoping for. I gave her an honest answer.

"No, I don't think so. It wouldn't." I tried to give her a sincere smile and glad it worked when she gave me one of hers. The ones that usually make my heart beat faster.

"Then I guess it wouldn't hurt to try." She stopped in front of a classroom and I followed suit. "Thanks Naoms." She hugged me and I couldn't help but hug her back even though I wanted so badly to run away from the hurt I was feeling. She pulled away and gave me one last wave before heading inside her class. I walked across from her class to my class, only now noticing that our rooms were across from each other's.

Sophia beat me to it. I wanted to punch the living daylights out of her, but tried to remember all my morals my mum had instilled in me. I tried to remember why I hated injustice so much, trying hard not to regret giving Emily an unbiased answer. But in the end, my morals won. Besides, Emily did say that she didn't like her that way, didn't she? I mean, who knows? Maybe Emily just wanted to give Sophia the benefit of the doubt. But what if the date changes her feelings towards Sophia? What if after the date, she'd come to me and say she feels that Sophia is IT? I was brought out from my internal monologue by a hand massaging my fists, only now noticing that my knuckles were already white from how tight I was balling it. I looked at the source of the hand to find Effy looking at me with sympathy. She knows. Of course, she always knows. But what I like about her is that she didn't need to tell me anything. After a while, I felt myself relax and I know Effy felt this because she stopped rubbing her thumbs across my knuckles but continued to hold my hand for the rest of the class. At one point I remembered squeezing her hand thanks and the last thing I remembered was her hand squeezing mine back, before the rest of the day blurred out.

* * *

Later at training, I didn't as so much look in the direction of Sophia but I could feel her boring holes into my head… probably trying to make me look at her with that smug look on her face that I so wanted to wipe from her face. I knew that one look at her, I would snap. So instead of committing a mistake I would surely get in trouble for, I focused on basketball. I trained so hard that night that I had probably sprained my ankle from doing the stutter move so much and watching all my defenders drop to the floor on their arse before shooting the ball; that I had probably bruised my knee from diving too much to the floor just to get the ball; that I had probably worn myself out for the game that we were about to have tomorrow. A game that would be held in the court of our opposing team, which would be a first for us this season… and which also meant winning would be crucial for us. But I didn't give a toss, because in the end it took my mind off Sophia. It took my mind off the hurt that I was feeling.

When I got home later in the evening, I went straight to my room and skipped on dinner. I finished all my coursework before dressing up for bed. And before I fell asleep, I remembered how Emily called me Naoms and decided that even though I hated it when other people besides Effy and Cook called me that... I liked it even more when it came from Emily. So I listened to my mum and to Effy. I wouldn't give my feet a chance to do my decisions for me. I'd let Sophia have her chance this time, but next time, it would never happen again. Next time I'd win the chance to get Emily to go out on a date with me, just how I won my very first game of basketball in college.

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**Thoughts?**


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: This was so hard to write... I hate Sophia just like you all do but... *sigh This one's a short one, I honestly thought it was longer than but oh well. I guess my brain's still all woozy from my vacation. **

**As per usual, I wasn't able to read through this one more time so if there are errors, my sincere apologies!**

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Emily

All the attention that she's been giving me so far was actually nice... not too much, not too little. To feel cared for was a nice change. Not that my family doesn't, especially with Katie being my twin, but getting it from outside the family felt surprisingly wonderful. It was enough to make me happy. And although Sophia may not be IT, this would do. Besides, it's a bit early for either of us to proclaim this as a lifetime thing, isn't it? After all, it's just our first date.

After the game against Winterbourne International Academy Tigers, which the Dragons won against, thanks to Naomi having a monster game... Sophia drove me to her house. I haven't had the time to congratulate Naomi on her performance, but I quickly forgot about it because of my date. I was nervous. I didn't even know why I agreed to have the date in her house, but she said she was tired and I had to agree. Besides, she was the one who just played a tiring game... but I digress, Sophia and I may be in the same form, but we weren't actually close. We weren't even on speaking terms before she upped and asked me out on a date. Of course we've exchanged a few hello's here and there... And the odd question of do you have an extra paper? And do you mind sharing your book? Cause I forgot mine kind of thing... But it was a good thing that Sophia more than made up for it by being talkative... And by feeding me.

We were currently at her house eating dinner. We had been talking about a few random things, the usual small talk by using our only similarity at the moment, school. There weren't personal questions yet, but I felt comfortable, much to my surprise.

"Are you done stuffing everything available in this house yet?" Sophia asked stopping my train of thought. I was gobsmacked and it must have shown as she tried to stifle a laugh. I dropped my fork.

"Oi! What are you trying to say then?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest. I saw her eyes flicker to my tits. It was just half a second, but I saw it and it made me feel good. Katie may have the bigger goods, but it doesn't mean I have nothing to flaunt.

She cleared her throat and shrugged. "That you're a pig?"

_"What are you trying to say?" I said pouting to my companion._

_We were in a clearing and it felt peaceful. It was quiet, except for the light drops of rain._

_"That you're a pig?" My companion replied._

"Emily? Emily! Shit, are you okay? Look, I'm sorry. It was just a joke. I won't call you a pig again." Sophia was right in front of me, brushing the fringe out of my face with her left hand and rubbing my cheeks with the other.

I blinked a few times, trying to gauge if I had just had a dream or what... A memory? What the hell was that? With the way I sounded in whatever it was, I was younger then. Jesus. If it was a memory, then it's the first time anything like it has ever happened to me. And why couldn't I see the face of my companion? Whoever it was, it was a she. The voice was eerily familiar, but I just couldn't place who it was.

"Are you okay?" Sophia asked bringing me out of my misery. I shook my head and nodded it.

"Yeah, sorry... I'm fine. Must be tired." I faked a yawn to let her believe it. It was half true though as whatever just happened drained my energy.

She checked her watch for the time and stood up from her kneeling position in front of me. She picked up her jacket then held her hand out for me to take. "You're right. Come, let's bring you home."

I took her hand and she led me outside to her car and drove me home.

Neither one of us spoke on the drive home and I was thankful for it. I don't think I could have said anything with sense if Sophia talked to me. I only realized that I was home when she was already standing outside the passenger door, waiting for me to come out. I stood up and walked to the front door with her by my side. I turned to her and sighed.

"I'm sorry I ruined our date." I whispered careful not to wake the rest of the Fitches, whatever the time was.

"You didn't. Look, I should be the one sorry... Maybe it was something I said-"

"It's not you." I cut her off.

"'It's not you, it's me', isn't it?" She answered and smirked at me. I chuckled.

"Fuck off!" I smacked her arm and she chuckled.

"Remind me next time to head to the groceries. I have a feeling the house will be short of food supply because of you." She said and I smacked her arm again.

"Bit presumptuous of you, don't you think? What makes you think I'll agree to another date with you?" I asked with my brows raised.

"What makes you think you won't?" She retorted with her brows raised. I blushed. I didn't have anything to say to that. Because I honestly had a great time today.

"I best be off then." She said after a while and I nodded. I took a step towards her and kissed her cheek.

"Thanks." I said as she nodded and started the walk to her car. She waved one last time before stepping inside her car and gunning it.

I sighed one last time and opened the front door stealthily, making my way to Katie and I's bedroom as quiet as possible. Once in the safety of our bedroom, I allowed myself to lean my back to the door and sighed with my eyes closed. What a day. I opened my eyes then, with dressing up for bed in mind when I was met with the image of my twin, arms crossed and a scowl on her face. Busted.

"Sophia Moore?" She snorted. "Really, Ems? You couldn't have picked someone fit than that mong. I mean, honestly, if you're like into those athletic dykes, you could have just gone for Naomi fucking Campbell." I rolled my eyes. Great, a lecture.

"Drop it, Katie. I'm tired." I sighed, stripping today's clothes and replacing them with pyjamas.

"Right, but don't even think you're off the hook, Ems." She huffed as she laid down in bed and snuggled in her duvet. I sighed for the umpteenth time.

Today was... Great. Surprisingly great. I expected the date to be awkward, but it turned out to be the complete opposite. And had it not been for Katie, I would have forgotten about Naomi and how it was her that I really wanted. As I laid down in bed preparing for sleep, I couldn't decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

* * *

**Phew! That was hard... Thoughts anyone? Or should I say, violent reactions? Xx****  
**


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry for the lack of Naomily interaction (we're getting there) and short chapters. And because of that... here you are with a longest chapter I've done so far. **

**Again, sorry if there are errors. I'm so sleepy and I need to wake up in less than 8 hours! Teehee**

* * *

Naomi

I laid my Nike duffel bag on the floor as I placed all the books I needed for today's classes inside my navy blue rucksack. I hitched the rucksack on both shoulders and was placing the Nike duffel bag inside my locker when I heard two familiar voices. One, I've been dreading to hear. And the other, I've been craving to hear. I turned my head to the direction their voices were coming from and true enough, they were there… all loved up. A sight that every time I caught a glimpse of, I felt punched in the gut. Not even the swarm of the crowd in the hallway could block the image. The only upside of things was that Sophia wasn't bothering me anymore. But you know what they say about seeing the person you fancy happy even though it's not you they are with, and that being enough to make you happy as well? Well, it was half true. True in a sense that I felt relieved. It seemed like Sophia did really like her and was taking care of her. To see Emily smile that way? The smile that lets you think that the world isn't as fucked up as it is? It more than makes up for how much it also sucks to see them together that way.

Two weeks had passed ever since I found out about Sophia asking Emily out on a date. Two weeks since that very same day I was growing a pair to ask Emily out, but failed. And two weeks since things between them have become official... At least, from what I heard. I haven't had the chance to talk with Emily about her present relationship yet, and not that I really want to hear anything about it… It was just lately she was distant. Not only to me, but to the rest of the group as well. It was understandable, seeing as she's in a relationship and which meant that she has been spending most of her time with her girlfriend. And knowing Emily, it's not really something she's doing deliberately.

What about me, I hear you ask? Well, I'm proud to say I haven't spent a fraction of my time moping about. I've been more productive than I remember myself being. I spent all my free time studying for both school and basketball, training more basketball, and getting fucked up with Cook and Effy. I know getting fucked up isn't exactly contributing to basketball but if they can have their fun… if Sophia and Emily can be happy, why can't I? So, why the fuck not? Besides, what's the point of living, if I can't even enjoy it? Just as long as it doesn't deteriorate my performance, then I don't see the problem with occasionally getting fucked up. And no, before you even ask, I don't mean getting fucked up by literally getting fucked by a random. I refuse to have another Sophia in my life, so I spend my time getting fucked up by poisoning myself with more alcohol and a little weed with the accompaniment of my bestfriends Cook and Effy.

But I digress, in those two weeks; we have had three games… Two games lost, one game won, all away games… giving us a 4-2 record for this season, which wasn't all too bad since we were on the top. Second to us being the Cotham Eagles with a 4-3 record. The two games we simultaneously lost were against the Chew Valley Cobras and the Redcliffe Stallions. Both were very close games which made the loss harder to take, but after a team meeting with Anthea and a boost of more of her sexual innuendos, the team was able to move on. The game we won was against the Saint Brendan's Wolves and was only held Monday, which we won leading with 25 points… Nothing but a good come back from two devastating losses. And today, three days after, is our match against our last opponent for the first round… the Redland Green Jaguars. The thought of ending the first round with a bang was an exciting prospect and I was motivated to deliver.

"She's not inlove with her, you know."

I jumped out of my skin, only now noticing that I've been staring at Sophia and Emily. Fucks sake, not so subtle with my jealousy, am I?

"Jesus Christ, still not announcing yourself, are you?" I snapped at Effy and as per usual, received a smirk in return. "And how the fuck would you know that?" I asked, closing my locker and locking it.

She shrugged and leant back on the lockers. "I just know." I rolled my eyes at this and copied her.

"'Course you do." I snorted. "And what's the difference? Isn't being in a relationship supposed to mean that you're inlove with someone?" I asked, both of us looking to where Sophia and Emily are laughing about something inside Sophia's locker. Like I said, all loved up and happy.

"Not really." She answered and I raised my eyebrows at this for elaboration. "You can be in a relationship, but not be inlove with that person." She continued, and I knew well enough that she was speaking from experience. I was sure that she was talking about her past relationship with Freddie, which if you ask me, only lasted a month before Effy broke it by breaking Freddie's heart. It still comes as a surprise that whenever we're out and Freddie's around, things aren't awkward between them despite their past. It was like nothing really happened between them. I digress; I still don't get what Effy was trying to say so I asked her.

"How is that even possible?"

"I don't know. All I know is that you can love someone, but not be inlove with them. There's a difference." I sighed. I hoped that whatever Effy was saying was true, that Emily wasn't inlove with Sophia. But then think about it, what difference does it make? She's still with her, isn't she? And I tell Effy as much.

"I mean, look at them, they look all happy and loved up like no one can separate the both of them. The fact of the matter is Emily has made her choice. She's with Sophia, and can be until she wants to be." I answered. The couple we were looking at now out of sight.

"You didn't really give her a choice, Naoms." She answered and I felt my brows crease. I was about to reply when she spoke again. "You said that Emily has made her choice, but you didn't really give her an option. What did you do when you knew Sophia asked her out on a date? You stood by and let Sophia take the prize. She didn't make a choice, Naomi. She simply took it upon herself to accept what was being offered in front of her." And believe me when I say that's the longest thing I've heard from Effy. It hurt, because everything she said was true. I did stand by and let Sophia take the chance. I didn't do anything and for that I got what I deserve… nothing. I sighed then allowed myself to chuckle, Effy sure does know what she's talking about.

"So how's the Katie thing coming around? Anything I need to know about?" I asked changing the topic I was growing tired of. She shrugged and I thought I saw a hint of sadness flash in her eyes, but disappeared as soon as I saw it.

"We kissed." She answered coolly.

"I take it things didn't go well after that?" I asked and she nodded her head in response. "So what's your plan?" She shrugged.

"I don't know. I have you, don't I?" She smirked and I knew this was her way of changing the subject. It's something we have yet to talk about, but not now. So I relented and hooked my right arm above her shoulders and led her to the fields. Class won't start in 15 minutes anyway and I needed a fag.

"Fag?" She asked, as if reading my mind.

"Best idea I've ever heard so far."

* * *

"Alright, ladies. It's the last game of the first round so fuck them with everything you've got. After three away games, we're back home… and I expect you to deliver an orgasm to the crowd! We have the fucking home advantage and I want you lot to use it. Play the game like you're making love to it. I'm not expecting anything less, is that fucking clear?" Anthea asked and we all answered as a team, _"Yes, ma'am!"_

"That's more like it. Dragons in 3, you pussies!" And all of us gathered in a circle and stretched one arm to the center. "1, 2, 3…"

"DRAGONS!"

It was 3 minutes left in the 1st quarter when the worst of my basketball career happened… or what I thought was the worst, but turned out as something I need not to worry about. At least, not something that was long-term. We were on defensive position and their tallest player was on her way to the basket for a lay-up. I was quick to realize her moves before she even did it and I ran for it. And when she jumped for the lay-up, I jumped as high as I could to block her shot. The Jaguars were leading 9-15, and I couldn't risk having our crowd give up on us. She was 4-5 inches taller than me which meant the chances of blocking her shot was short, but much to my surprise I reached the ball and smacked it out of bounds as hard as I could. Our crowd roared at my defensive play, the only bad thing about it was my landing. My left foot went first and I landed with all my weight on it. It couldn't have been wrong had I not been tiptoeing with my landing foot. I immediately grimaced in pain and tried to catch myself with my right foot, but only ended up falling to the floor on my right side. I held on to my left thigh which was now aching in pain. I didn't know what happened then, all I knew was that I was groaning in so much pain and at the fact that I might not be able to play for such a long time. I think I released so much sweat from the pain and the anxiety. Soon enough, the pain was too much to take then everything went black.

* * *

I woke some time later in a daze. I wasn't sure what day it was, more so what the hell I was doing lying on a mat in our team's locker room. All I knew was that I needed to get out there and help the team win, assuming the game is still on. But by the different clothes and shoes scattered on the floor, it was still game time. I sat up quickly, when I felt a sharp pain shoot through my left quads and thigh, then remembered why I was here. Fucking great.

"Not a good idea, luv." A familiar voice spoke somewhere behind me. I twisted my body around to see Cook sat at the chair placed in front of my locker with his arms folded behind his head, grinning at me and I couldn't help but give him a smile of my own.

"Cook, what are you doing here?" I asked knowing full well that he has a game today.

"Came here as soon as I heard, didn't I?" He replied standing up from the chair and sitting on the floor beside me. "You got me worried there, Blondie. I thought for sure you're it for the season." I grabbed his hand and squeezed it before pulling away.

"Thanks Cook, but that's not really a reason for you to skip out on your team mates, innit?" I asked got his trademark guffaw in return.

"Don't matter, innit? We won the game anyway." He grinned and I ruffled his hair.

"So, what's the verdict with this then? Am I done for the rest of the season?" I asked, nodding towards my left leg.

"Nah, just some nasty cramps. Oh and doctor asked me to give you this, said you should drink it as soon as you wake up." He said as he reached somewhere behind him and produced a bottle of Gatorade. I unscrewed the cap and drank half the bottle before placing it back down on the floor.

"What quarter is it?" I asked him, trying to gauge whether or not I could still play today. He grinned and I took it as a good sign.

"Oh don't you worry your pretty little arse, Blondie… you could still play. 3rd quarter just started a few minutes before you woke up." I returned his grin and felt myself relax at the possibility of playing in the 4th quarter. I lay down on the mat and folded my arms behind my head with Cook following suit. We were silent for a while and I could tell by the way Cook's brows were creased that he was thinking about something, so I let him. After a while I felt him shift as he broke the silence.

"What are you planning to do with LilRed, Naomi?" He asked and I knew by the way he said my first name, which was fucking rare mind you, that he wanted a serious answer. I sighed and slowly bent my left knee to find that the pain had drastically decreased.

"I don't know, Cook. I'm not sure. I mean, I like her, but she's not exactly available right now, is she?" I replied.

"She isn't, but you are, Blondie. If she can have her fun and happiness, then why can't you?" He asked and I couldn't help but notice how different he sounded. It was as if he was speaking from experience. And if my observations are correct, I know exactly who he's on about.

"You really like Effy, don't you?" I asked and I felt him stiffen before relaxing again.

"Not exactly a goer, is it?" He paused and I shook my head. "But I'm moving on, Blondie and so should you." He continued.

I took in his words and let them sink in. He was right, of course. There's no reason for me not to move on, is there? And there was no way I'd stay hung up on Emily like this, no matter how much I liked her. Just like anyone else in this world, I have my needs. And no matter how much I tell myself that it's her I really want, someday when the need arises, I would cave in and find a willing victim to share my misery with me. So I took it upon myself and decided that moving on was worth a try. I smirked with renewed vigor at Cook and asked him a question I knew the answer to.

"You're telling me, that I should go shag around again… is that it?" I asked and Cook gave me a light chuckle.

"I'm telling you, Blondie… that you need to go back to how you were before dinky tits happened in your life." I rolled my eyes at his nickname for Sophia but chuckled at the hilarity of it. "I bet you've lost your game already." He said and guffawed in laughter.

"Is that a challenge I hear?" I replied with raised eyebrows.

"Tomorrow night, pre-game at Fred's then party at this new club that's just opened down south. First one to pull wins, loser gets to run around the fields stark naked. What do you say, Blondie? You up for it?" He asked, waggling his eyebrows. I didn't like the prospect of running around naked, much less in school grounds, but fuck it. Anything to bring humour to our situation.

I stood up then, glad that the pain on my left leg had disappeared. I straightened out my jersey as I prepared myself for the 4th quarter. I shook Cook's outstretched hand and returned the grin that was plastered on his face. "Deal." I said. He walked away to the direction of the court then, but not before slapping my arse and chuckling.

"Go get 'em, Blondie!"

* * *

One thing you have to know about Anthea Stonem is that when she has her mind set on something, changing her mind would be the hardest thing to do. She's stubborn, but I guess I can't exactly complain with her being cryptic with things, can I? It was 6 minutes left in the 4th quarter, with our team trailing at 51-60. 6 minutes is a long enough time for our team to catch up with the Jaguars and seeing as the players on the court are still okay, then the 9 point lead that they have is just nothing. But I guess being restricted to play the game made it harder to let things be. I've been sat here since the start of the quarter, arms crossed, trying to convince Anthea that I can play and my left leg didn't hurt anymore. She was skeptical at first, but soon believed me when I convinced her by jumping up and down, making sure to land on my 'bad' leg in every jump. I tried not to wince in pain whilst showing her, but the pain was certainly worth it. The truth was, it still hurt, but I knew my body more than anyone else did. The pain wasn't that much to stop me from playing. I could live with a little pain.

"Patience, Blondie. The last blow has to come from you." She said then stood up and clapped her encouragement to the team along with the cheers of the crowd when Sophia scored a three point shot, putting the team up 54-60. I rolled my eyes at whatever she meant about the last blow coming from me and instead watched how the other team played.

It was interesting, really, how much you see things when you're just watching the game than when you're on the court playing. I realized how much the Jaguars' height advantage had given them the lead. It became apparent to me how their plays were so redundant, in the way it was delivered and where it was being done, and yet they still manage to pull through with it successfully. I noticed how their point guard would always ask for a screen from the player I blocked a while ago, making the screener available, hence her successful delivery of lay-ups and bank shots. The problem was our team hasn't come up with a solution on how to stop them. Another problem was that the tall player was too tall for us to defend and realized that the only reason why I was able to block her shot a while ago was because of my timing. Without it, she was impossible to defend. But I knew, at least, how to stop their pick n' roll play from happening again and again. If we were to stop it from happening, then all chances of them scoring would be reduced, seeing as they lack in the three-point category, which I'm proud to say our team excels in. I checked the score board, 58-62 with 4:12 minutes left in the quarter. Close enough. I stood up then, determined to not let the Jaguars get away from us again and placed myself beside Anthea, who was standing by the courtside and shouting instructions here and there whenever possible.

"Call time out." Was all that I said to her. And as expected, she just looked at me with that skeptical look on her face… the face that says 'who the fuck do you think you are?' But I didn't budge and looked her straight in the eye. "Trust me." I continued.

The boo of the crowd made her look away from me, and I knew damn well that without looking, that the other team had scored again. I also heard a whistle being blown, which meant that whoever was fouled has the chance to complete her three points on the free throw line. She sighed in defeat and I knew that I had won. The player on the other team has successfully shot her free throw, putting them up 58-65. She walked up to the officials and called time out. I allowed myself to smile at the thought of finally getting through Anthea, but immediately went back to business when our players sat on the bench after I pulled Anthea's seat and placed it in front of them and sat down. I wanted to laugh at the look on their faces, including Anthea's, but I needed them to see what I was seeing on the bench and I only had a minute for that.

"That pick n' roll play has got to stop and you know it." I started and they all nodded. "Our only real problem here is their center and we have to address that."

"Defending that giant is impossible, Naomi." Sophia interjected and they all nodded.

"I know that, but that doesn't mean you can't stop her. So I want you guys to put on a double defense on her whenever the pick n' roll comes into play. I'm not asking you to block her shot, I'm just asking you to put hard defense on her. Just raise your fucking arms in front of her and that's enough to stop her, no matter how much your height difference is." I said.

"But what about the guards? They will be left open for three point shots." Ford interjected and I saw Liv shake her head. I knew that she knew how they lacked on that category.

"I don't know if you've noticed but that's the one thing that we have advantage over them. They lack sharp shooters on the three point line, Rach. It's not much as a risk than it is if they leave us open like that." I answered.

"She's right." Liv said, finally speaking up and making the other 4 players look at her. I nodded my thanks to Liv, which she returned. And since she's the leader of the pack? Well, it didn't take long to convince the other 4 players. I stood up and stretched an arm to the center. They followed suit, placing their arms on top of mine.

"3:56 minutes, ladies. That's more than enough to pass those 7 points!" I said and they cheered their agreement. "Dragons in 3! 1, 2, 3…"

"DRAGONS!" They cheered and ran back to the court just in time with the buzzer, signaling the end of time out.

I sat down on the bench and kept a close eye on the game. I noticed that Anthea was still standing, but this time she was looking at me with that same expression Effy has when something is impressive to her. She shook her head after a while and sat down beside me. Fortunately, the defensive game plan that I had given the team had worked. We were getting more steals and more points that in 3 minutes, the team had finally managed to tie the game at 67-67. The crowd was roaring louder than it ever had in the duration of the game, our defensive play and tied score getting their spirits up. And that was enough to make me happy. I didn't even feel the need to play anymore. Just the thought of being able to help the team in delivering the win was enough as it was. So as the Jaguars called time out and as our players retreated to our bench, Anthea said the last thing I expected to hear.

"Get out there, Blondie. It's your time to play."

I looked at her wide-eyed and she just returned it with a look of pride on her face. Pride from where or what, I didn't know. But all I felt at that time was I couldn't disappoint her. So I stood up right away and nodded at her. I made my way to the court with Ford, Underwood, Malone and Williams. We positioned ourselves for defense on the Jaguars' side of the court and waited for the whistle to signal the start of the time. Whatever happens in the next 56 seconds would be crucial and I felt the adrenaline course through my veins. It's definitely crunch time. As their point guard crossed the half court, I did my usual technique of shocking the opponent with hard defense, getting my desired reaction and struggle from her. I snatched the ball away from her and ran to our side of the court. As I crossed the half court, I saw Underwood and Malone already placed on either side of the basket. As I neared the three point line, I passed the ball to Malone, who then immediately passed the ball to Underwood, confusing the fuck out of the lone defender who was there and didn't see the lay-up shot that Underwood scored, putting us up 69-67 with 45 seconds left in the 4th quarter.

The Jaguars were smart players, that much I could tell just from watching them being able to get away with redundant plays. But I didn't know they were that smart. On their next play, they used up all the 24 seconds given to them to deliver a play and was able to get a three point shot in, putting them on the lead again at 69-70 with 21 seconds left. So when Underwood made the in-bound pass to Liv, I immediately positioned myself on my usual spot beyond the three point line and waited. I saw Liv having a hard time making plays as she was being doubled. She passed the ball to Ford, who was doubled as well, giving her no choice but to pass the ball back to Liv. I looked at the shot clock and knew that we didn't have that much time left. 10 seconds, it said. So I positioned myself where Liv could freely pass the ball to me. I raised my hand for her to see me and she immediately passed the ball. 7 seconds. I dribbled the ball from my left to right, right to left, then cut through my defender. I did the stutter step, making her drop arse first on the floor and shot the ball. I was fouled by someone then and fell to the ground. I watched as my shot went through, giving me the opportunity to complete the three point play on the free throw line and putting us up 71-70 with 3 seconds left.

I stood up and made my way to the free throw line, as everyone else on the court positioned themselves. I breathed in and shot the ball, but immediately knew the ball wasn't going through. So I immediately stepped backwards to the three point line, fortunate that Underwood got the rebound. I raised my hands, glad that she saw me from the swarm that of Jaguars surrounding her. At 0.50 seconds, I got the ball and immediately shot it from three point territory. And just like our first game, I saw everything in slow motion up until the time the ball went through exactly 0 second, putting us up at 74-70 for the win.

The look of happiness from my team and Anthea, and the loud roar of our crowd was enough to block out the ache that I was feeling again on my left leg. Definitely ended the first round with a bang.

* * *

Later I was left on my own devices in our locker room, having been put on hold for interview after interview by the press. It was the first time I was put on interview and it wasn't something I would call as a pleasurable experience. But nonetheless, I had a good laugh from the hideous questions. I also found out that fans have given me the nickname 'Clutch' for being able to put the team up for the win again. I thought that it was too fast, but at the same time I was flattered that some people have taken an interest in what I can do. Whatever. The only thing that matters to me is that we won through group effort.

I was typing up my shoe laces, when I heard the door go. I looked up to find Emily with a tentative smile on her face whilst looking around the locker room. She had her hair tied in a ponytail with her fringe on the side, wearing a black singlet, black leggings and black converses. Fuck me sideways on a bike. Jesus Christ, this girl is making it really harder for me to move on. I couldn't find the voice to ask her what she was doing here, so thankfully she went first.

"Hi" she said smiling shyly at me.

"Hey" I replied and continued to tie my shoe laces. "Looking for Sophia? She went ahead already." I asked, making sure to hide the disappointment in my voice.

"No, I came here to see you actually." She replied and I looked up to find her biting her lip. That seriously has to be illegal.

"Oh" I paused then patted the space beside me for her to sit on. "What's up then?"

She sat down and sighed a couple of times before speaking. "I came here to erm… To… Nevermind. It's pathetic." She made her way to stand up, but I reached out to grab her wrist. I tried so hard to ignore the energy that flowed through me in that connection and I tried so hard to ignore the fact that I knew she felt it too, judging by the goose bumps appearing on her arms.

"You went all the way here to ask me something. Surely it's not something pathetic." I said, pulling her down to sit down again and she relented.

"I… I cameheretoaskforhelpinpolitics." She said quickly that I almost didn't catch it. I raised my eyebrows at this. Honestly, I didn't have a problem with helping anyone in Politics. It's my passion next to basketball. But just when I've finally decided to move on, that's when life decides to throw in some Emily time with me. Great. She must have taken my silence for a no, as she stood up once again to leave. "Nevermind. I know you're busy and-"

"Sit down, Emily." I said sternly and she followed. "You want me to help you with Politics?" I asked and she nodded. "No problem. What do you need help with?"

"Exams. I just don't get some of the approaches to the study of politics and-" She said and I cut her off immediately.

"Say no more, Em. I'm your girl." I winked at her and stood up, and she followed suit. I noticed she was blushing, diverting her gaze somewhere not me. I mentally slapped myself for flirting with her. Fucks sake, way to make things awkward, Naomi.

"I'll text you, yeah?" She said as she turned to leave and I nodded. Just before she reached the door, she turned around and gave me one of her brightest smiles. "And congratulations with the win, Naoms. You did great." I smiled back in return and nodded my head in thanks, just cause I couldn't find the strength to be coherent at that.

This is what I hate and like about Emily. Her ability to make me smile with just one sentence. Jesus, I seriously need someone to remind me that I need to get a move on before I forget about it.

* * *

**Reviews? xx **


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: I think I need to clarify something since two people have already reviewed about Emily 'forgetting' about Naomi. I'm not sure if we're on the same boat in this one... That's the reason why I put Katie on the end to stick it in Emily's bonce that it's Naomi (although, this is done without Katie knowing that is). And that's also the reason why at the end of Naomi's chapter, we have Emily asking for Naomi's help in Politics when she should have been asking Sophia, which think about it, don't you think Sophia would hate that? If Emily had reaaaally forgotten about Naomi, I don't think she'd even give Naomi the time of the day, won't you agree? And we still have Emily's POV on things... So don't worry if you think this isn't going to be a Naomily story because it IS. When I said that the Naomily interactions are coming soon, I meant it. I just don't want this story to be a quick love story for Naomily, because then it would only be a short story and possibly a dragging one (Not that I have anything against these stories, it's just that I don't know how to write them).****I don't blame you guys though for reacting that way, maybe it was how I used the words? How I described things? My sincere apologies for which of my errors has caused this.**

**But,** **you guys are right. It's highly impossible for Emily to forget about Naomi. I can go on and on why Sophia is just a filler for Naomily, but I might end up spoiling the story. I've already spoiled things as such. So to those who have reviewed so far, thank you so much. Moreover to those who have raised their concern about Emily 'forgetting' about Naomi. ****Anyway, Emily's POV… and remember she's the "American one", hence the different use of words (sort of).**

**I'll let you get on with it!**

* * *

Emily

_Flashbacks_. Have I told you how much I hate flashbacks? Well, I hate them. I hate them with every fibre of my being. You would think that finally having them would give me something to be happy about. But all it does is ruin my chances of actually being happy. Plus the fact that it has done nothing but drain my energy whenever it happens is actually annoying. I haven't told anyone that I've been getting them, because all of them only involve one person… The very same person I was with at wherever that clearing was, which all the more gives me something to be bothered about. _Who is she?_ I know it's something that I probably should have raised to my family but I haven't really had the time… Or, I think I've been spending so much time with my girlfriend.

_Girlfriend_. It's been two weeks since Sophia and I have made it official. It's nice. It feels good to have someone who cares and looks after you. I finally understand why other people get so desperate to have a relationship after just having a nasty break up. Being with Sophia has been fun, actually. She makes me smile, she makes me laugh and… she makes me laugh and smile. Panda and JJ had been going on and on how lucky I was to finally have someone there for me, to finally have someone to love.

_Love._ Big word, isn't it? Some people run away from it, while some people embrace it. Me? I don't know. Do I love Sophia? Do I feel that ache in my chest whenever she's not around? Do I feel tingles in my spine whenever she holds me or says something incredibly sweet? Do I feel my heart race when I see her? The fact of the matter is I don't know how to answer all those questions without sounding like a jerk. Because the answer is… no, I don't. Isn't it that when you love someone, they're not only supposed to make you smile and make you laugh? Isn't it that they're also supposed to drive you mad, to make you feel like you want to kill them when things get a little rough? But no, she doesn't make me feel those things. So why the hell am I still in this relationship, you ask? Sophia may not make me feel those things, but that doesn't mean I don't like her. Because I do, in fact, like her. It's just that deep inside I know that it will never go beyond that. Deep inside I know that part of the reason why I'm in this relationship is because of the security blanket it holds over me. It keeps me protected from being hurt because I know that I will never be able to be with the person who actually makes me feel those tingles in my spine however brief the contact or conversation is, and that ache in my chest, that I will never be able to understand where it's coming from, whenever she's not around.

_Naomi. _I've tried so hard to forget about her, but in the end I realized I will never succeed in that. I mean, who am I kidding? How can you forget someone you feel a deep connection to? How can you forget someone who makes you feel that ache in your chest whenever she's not around, even when you're with the person who's supposed to make you feel that way? Try as I might for the sake of my relationship, I can't. Because as weird as it is, the more I stay in my relationship, the more I feel myself pull towards Naomi… which isn't supposed to be the case, is it? That's the reason why I've hardly spent time with the gang. I haven't been sitting at our lunch table. For fucks sake, I've barely been able to Katie, who's supposed to be my twin… but that's another issue that I will explain later. That girl is seriously acting weird. But I digress, I've hardly spent time with them in an attempt to push away the feelings that I feel for Naomi. But then again, I'm only kidding myself. Try as I might, the pull is just so much stronger than my push.

I guess that's the reason why I found myself sat beside Naomi, asking if she could help me with my upcoming Politics exam. I did need help with it because for the life of me, Politics is something I will never get my head around with. We weren't even on the Politics proper part and were just studying the approaches to study politics, and I'm already having a hard time. So when Naomi agreed and told me to _'say no more, I'm your girl'_, I blushed scarlet and averted my gaze. _How I wish, _I thought, and then mentally slapped myself for thinking that way. I knew she wasn't flirting and it seemed as if she regretted saying it by the look on her face. See what I mean about never having her? I left after a few moments of awkward silence, but not before congratulating her for the win today.

When I arrived home at around 6 in the afternoon, I was immediately met by the worried look on my mom's face. She had grown old with worry in the past week and I knew it was all because of my sister, who hasn't been going home with me for a week or so and would only go home at midnight, smelling of stale booze and cigarettes. It meant that I had been spending every night taking care of a drunken Katie and making sure she actually gets to bed. It also meant that I had spent the past week convincing my parents to go to bed, telling them that she's just busy doing a project with a friend. It worked, of course. But I never really had the chance to ask her what was up. Every morning I wake up and she's already gone for school, which was one of the weirdest things about all of this, if you ask me. I'm pretty sure she's confused about something or someone. All I know is that I've never seen my sister act that way. So when my mom asked me the very same question that she's been asking for a week, I answered with the very same answer I've been telling her all week… '_No, I haven't seen her all day but I'm sure she's just with her friends.' _As soon as my mom retreated to wherever she came from, I went upstairs to our room and laid in bed, exhaustion overcoming me.

* * *

I was roused from my sleep by the sound of my phone ringing and someone groaning on the other side of the room. With eyes closed, I reached to our bedside table, picked up the offending object and answered.

"Hello?" I husked.

"_Emily? Babe! Where were you? I've been worried about you all night! You weren't answering my texts!" _Sophia shouted on the other end of the line. I realized then that I must have fallen asleep all night. I opened my eyes and sat up in bed, regretting it when I felt a head rush.

"Fucking…" I groaned and massaged my temples.

"_Are you alright?" _Sophia asked, worry laced with her voice. And I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach at the sound of her voice, knowing that I make her worry and that I knew I won't even give a shit if the tables were turned. I'm seriously fucked. I turned to the side to see Katie sleeping peacefully with light snores coming from her side of the bed. That's a first, I thought, and then quickly remembered I was on the phone.

"No… I mean, yes. Yes, I'm fine." I stuttered in reply, scratching my head. She sighed.

"_Great, that's good to hear. Look, I have something to talk to you about. Can you meet me in school at around say, 8?" _

I looked to where Katie was sleeping and thought that whatever it was that was bothering her now was my chance to ask about it. And honestly, as much as being with my twin makes me want to commit murder, I wanted some twin time. I've been with Sophia almost every single time in the past two weeks and now I'm craving for some time away from her. So I told Sophia I couldn't meet her. Fuck, what time is it anyway?

"Sorry, I can't. Something came up. But I'll see you in school, yeah?"

"_Why, what's up?" _She asked and I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes. I don't know if it was the way I was woken up today or the length of my sleep, but I'm seriously not in the mood today.

"I'll tell you all about it later." I won't. "Look, I have to go." I continued, looking at Katie who was stirring on her bed.

"_Alright. See you later, babe!" _

"Bye." I hung up the phone and threw it behind me.

I stood up and walked over to Katie's bed. I sat down on her side, waiting for her to wake up. I watched as she stirred some more and stretched, groaning as she did so. She opened her eyes and looked at me.

"Good sleep?" I asked brushing away the fringes off her face. She gave me a light smile and nodded, rubbing the sleep off her eyes. By the looks of things, she didn't come home drunk last night. She smelled normal. She smelled like Katie. And I hoped this was a good sign that she'd stop.

"I wish you'd talk to me about things, Katie." I said, smiling sadly at her. I saw a flash of uncertainty and panic in her eyes, but it disappeared as soon as I saw it. I immediately knew what was coming.

"What fucking things are you on about?" She replied, sitting up on her bed and fumbling with her iPhone. I rolled my eyes and put my hand over the phone and pushed her hands down along with it. She looked up at me with a scowl on her face and immediately replied to her before shit hits the fan.

"You can't and will never be able to fool me, Katie fucking Fitch." I said and by the look on her face, she never expected me to call her out on her bullshit. She sighed and gave me a sad smile. I saw her brows crease in thought and I knew not to interfere. She sighed again after a while and I squeezed her hand to let her know that I'll be here to listen. She sighed again then spoke.

"How did you…" She paused then sighed. "Fuck it. How did you know that you were erm, you know…" She asked and I cut her off.

"A homosexual git? A muff muncher? A lezza? Gay? Tomboy? Dyke?" I replied in humour at the things she had called me and she winced, as if it hurt physically to hear me say those things.

"Yeah, in summary." She answered and it was my turn to sigh.

"I just knew, you know? Remember that kiss I told you about with Nikki?" She nodded. "It helped make me realize things. I realized I was never really attracted to guys. I was never turned on by them. And I realized how much tits affected me more than the disgusting bulge between men's thighs." I continued and she chuckled lightly, which made me smile.

"Have you done it? With girls, I mean." She asked and I had to roll my eyes at her.

"No and if I did, I think I would have told you all about it." I replied and she cringed at the thought.

"Please, spare me the horrifying details!" She replied, making us laugh.

"But seriously, I haven't." I said once we've recovered.

"What? Like, ever? Not even with that mong?" She asked and I sighed, shaking my head.

"No, Katie. Not even with Sophia. Especially not with her." I answered. There was a short pause, before she spoke.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right? You do know that Ems, don't you?" She asked and I knew that she was worried about me. I wanted to tell her about the flashbacks, about Naomi, everything that's been bothering me lately… but it wasn't the right time. I didn't want to burden her with my problems, seeing as she's got enough on her plate. So I squeezed her hand in assurance and smiled at her.

"I know. And likewise, Katie. I hope you know that." She smiled back. She stood up from the bed and bent down to kiss me on the cheek. "Thanks Ems. Race you to the shower?" She smirked and ran away as soon as she said it. No fucking way!

I ran after her but I was already too late. As I turned left to the direction of our restroom, the door was already closed. I pounded once on it in frustration.

"Bitch!" I shouted but chuckled when I heard her laugh on the other end of the door.

"You love me!"

* * *

Later that evening, I found myself having a fashion crisis for tonight. Where's Katie when you needed her? I racked through my closet for anything to wear, but found nothing. I sighed in frustration just in time for Katie to come barging in the room with tons of shopping bags.

"Fashion crisis?" She asked with a smirk as she laid down the bags.

"Thank fuck, where were you?" I snapped at her and she scowled in return.

"Uhh… Shopping for us because I knew this would be happening? Jesus, if I had just known you'd be this way. A thank you would be fucking nice." She rolled her eyes and stripped herself to dress up for tonight. My heart swelled at Katie's thoughtfulness.

"Thank you." I said, hugging her. She pushed me away and smirked.

"Whatever. Just dress up, you fucking cow. I'll do your make up. I cannot wait to see all the gay lezzas drooling over my twin sister." She said and I rolled my eyes.

"Done!"

* * *

I opened my eyes quickly and stood up from where I've been sat on the bed. I twirled around and stopped when I was facing Katie, who was sporting a look of pride on her face. I opened my arms; "How do I look?" and Katie's smile stretched into a grin.

"Believe me, Ems… You will fucking turn heads tonight." I blushed.

Katie and I's dresses were similar but different in colour. Whereas hers was a purple tight hugging dress, mine was black. She looked good. She always looked good when it came to dressing down. And I knew I wouldn't match her. So as I stood in front of the mirror and saw whatever it was that was causing Katie to have that look of pride on her face, I was shocked. I did look good. I looked really really good. In fact, if I was another person, I'd say I looked hot. Smoking. I also saw how our hair was put up in a quiff and together, we looked fit. I took the time appreciating how I looked until Katie tapped my shoulder. I turned back to look at her and she smirked.

"Ready?" She asked. And I smirked in return. Definitely.

* * *

When Katie and I arrived at the club, the rest of the gang were already there, sitting on a table and drinking, except for Naomi and Cook. I couldn't see them anywhere. I tried to push the feeling of disappointment of not seeing Naomi today and instead opted to drink shot after shot with the rest of the gang, except for JJ who was nursing himself with a glass of orange juice to keep him calm for the night.

An hour later, I was buzzed from the amount of alcohol that I had consumed. Everyone else had fucked off from the table, leaving me and Effy the only occupants for the night. I didn't know when the others disappeared, but I'm pretty sure I remember seeing Panda and Thomas fucking off to the dance floor early in the evening. I also remember JJ leaving a few minutes ago. I can see Freddie from our table dancing with another girl. Katie's out there somewhere for sure. And I haven't seen Cook and Naomi for today. So I ask Effy.

"Where's Naoms and Cook?" I asked and I saw something flash in Effy's eyes at my question. She nodded towards the front of our table.

"There." She replied, just in time for Naomi and Cook to stumble upon our table. They were both properly drunk judging by all the slurring and incoherent words. Cook was the first one to notice me!

"Fuck me, Red. You're looking proper fit tonight. Would you like to help me beat Blondie here and have a good time?" He waggled his eyebrows and tongue. "What do you say, Red? Let's get together and feel alright." I rolled my eyes. Is that what he says to everyone? Because I remember him telling me the same thing when he first met me.

"Fuck off, Cook!" Effy and Naomi answered him at the same time, Naomi smacking him at the back of his head.

"_Ow._ What the fuck was that for?" He asked, massaging the part Naomi smacked. But something about what he said earlier got me intrigued.

"What bet?" I asked and they all turned their heads to me; Effy with that smirk on, Cook with that boyish grin and Naomi with that icy look on her face.

"Well, if you must know, Red… Blondie here agreed to a bet with me yesterday. First one to pull tonight wins and the loser has to run around the fields in school stark naked." He answered. And I felt something heavy on my chest and a sinking feeling in my stomach at the thought of Naomi pulling a girl tonight.

"Oh" I paused and cleared my throat to push away the lump that had formed in my throat. "So, who's leading so far?" I asked.

"We just arrived here. No Sophia?" Naomi interjected and I looked at her. She looked really good tonight. I had no doubt that she'll win this bet. Compared to Cook, she looked hell of a lot better than him. But maybe that's just my feelings talking.

"N-No… Sorry, I need the restroom." I stuttered and made a quick exit to the restroom. Once inside, I headed to the sink and tried to control my breathing. I felt tears brimming on my eyes and I sniffled to try and push them away. I had no right to feel jealous. I had no right to feel anything at all about this fucking bet, I have a girlfriend, don't I? So why the hell am I feeling this way?

I don't know how long I stayed inside the restroom, but some time later, I made my way out and back to our table to see Effy standing, looking at someone on the dance floor with that glazed look over her face. I followed her line of sight and saw what she was looking at; my sister Katie, grinding her ass to the crotch of some random. And I knew by the look Katie was sporting, that she was off of it. I saw her look back at Effy. It was just short, but in that short eye contact, I knew everything I needed to know. Effy was the reason why Katie was acting the way she was. And now that I think about it, all those sly glances from across the hallway, the inside jokes, and the little touches they unconsciously give to each other whenever they're together… they like each other. They fucking…

All thoughts vanished from my head when I saw a flash of blonde hair. I turned to the direction I saw it coming from and felt punched in the gut. There was Naomi with her hands on someone else's hips and her lips attached to that girl's neck. I recognized her as one of the players Naomi's team had come against. I tried to tell myself to look away, to save me from getting hurt… but I couldn't and watched on as they danced and gyrated against each other. The girl turned around then and wrapped her arms around Naomi's neck. Naomi bent down to her ear and whispered something, making the girl giggle. I felt my nose flare and my heart constrict more and more as the minutes passed. I wanted to rip the girl off of Naomi then kiss Naomi senseless. I wanted her to be mine, only mine… but I can't do that, can I? I have a girlfriend. A girlfriend I'm not even inlove with. I watched on and felt like regretting it, as I watched the girl and Naomi close the gap between them and kiss like nobody's watching them. I don't know what came into me. I should be looking away and running away, but I didn't. I watched them kiss until Naomi pulled away and whispered in the girl's ear, making her giggle once again. I couldn't stop the feeling of jealousy spread throughout my body. I was about to walk away when a voice stopped me.

"Seems like Naomi won the bet." I looked to my side to find Effy, with the saddest expression on her face. The first time I've ever seen her sporting a look other than that smirk I hated so much. I felt sad for her. I felt sad for us. Because the people we really wanted, was out there kissing and grinding with someone they're probably going to fuck later tonight. I looked back to where Naomi and the girl was, but they were already gone. I felt Effy squeezing my hand and I looked up to her to see her looking at me like I was about to die or something. And that's when I noticed the tears on my cheeks. I didn't even know I was already crying. By the time I realized this, I sobbed and covered my mouth with both hands to stop myself from wailing in this club. Effy pulled me into a hug telling me that it's okay. Only I wished it really was. After a few minutes, I felt anger rising in my chest. I slowly pushed Effy away from me and wiped my tears.

"Sorry, I need to go." I said and ran away. I could hear her calling out my name but I didn't look back.

I ran away as far as I could. Fuck that girl and fuck Naomi! I kept running to the direction of my house, not once looking back to where I came from. By the time I had laid down in my bed, I allowed myself to cry like I never had. Thinking about it was another, but actually witnessing everything was much more painful. I couldn't breathe, everything was too painful. I realized then that there was no point in staying in Sophia and I's relationship. She may not have said the L word yet, but I knew she was getting there. I owed it to her to be honest. And I knew she deserved someone else, someone who will love her for who she is. Not someone who's only with her because she feels secured with her. And then I also realized as I thought about everything that happened until tonight, that the only reason why I agreed to the date with Sophia, was because I wanted Naomi to give me a reason why I shouldn't. But she didn't.

* * *

**Looks to me that Effy is then again spot on about Emily not being inlove with Sophia. Hmmm, I wonder if Naomi will really get lucky tonight or... not? ;)**

**Reviews? xx **


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: No words for this chapter except… brace yourselves for the last part. This is a short one, half the length of the last 2 chapters I posted but this one's really heavy. **

**Thank you thank you thank you to those who have left a review and those who are still sticking with me through this story.**

**All errors/typos are my own doing. **

* * *

Emily

_Knock, knock, knock. _

I sat up in my desk quickly, trying to cover up the fact that I had fallen asleep as I heard the knock on my table. I looked around the class, thankful that the teacher was still droning on about history with his monotone voice and that almost everyone in class was still in dreamland. I looked to my right to see Cook grinning at me. I'm not sure what Cook was so happy about today. I mean, if I was in his position, I wouldn't have anything to smile about, considering I have to run naked in front of thousands of my peers on the field. But knowing Cook, he may be the only living person who finds the thought of running around naked exciting.

It was Monday today, the day the loser of the bet gets the privilege of showing the physical genes that he was blessed with in front of everyone in school. Word had already spread around about the loser and the field. I'm not sure how that happened. I'm not sure who even did it. All I know was that one minute everyone was whispering around me and all I could make out were the words _'bet', 'loser', 'naked'_ and _'field'_, and I immediately knew what everyone was so excited about. Nobody knew who the loser was or who the parties in the bet were, which added more to the excitement of the whole ordeal. As for me, I'm not particularly excited about seeing 'little Cookie' running around the field. No thanks. I was already feeling sick enough as it is. Of course I had the choice of ditching the scene, but I wasn't one to say no to a good laugh, especially as it involves Cook.

I was interrupted from my thoughts by the bell ringing, signalling the end of our class. I sighed in exasperation. Finally, I thought, and went to put my history book and pen inside my bag.

"Before you all go, I'd like you all to read about the European colonization in Southeast Asia. It's in page two hundred and fifty six of your book. I expect everyone to participate next meeting." Our teacher announced as everyone in the class, including me, groaned. "And remember! No wikipedia sources! Fuck knows what bollocks you read in there." More groaning from the class. "Off you go!"

I stood up from the desk and made my way to the door to see Cook waiting for me with his signature smile and his elbows outstretched to my direction, "Walk you to the field, Red?"

"What are you so excited about?" I asked as I linked my arm through his elbow and walked with him to the fields. He guffawed in laughter, not caring if people around us were shooting him dirty looks.

"Oh, trust me, Red… You'll love it." He answered once he recovered, shaking his head then cackling once again. I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help myself as I laughed with him and continued our journey to the field, with Cook talking non-stop about his latest conquest and how he had the time of his life fucking her tits. That earned him a hard slap on the head from me. I didn't need that in my imagination, thank you very much. But nonetheless, being with Cook was nice. Despite being repulsive, he was actually a nice exchange of company from my girlfriend, who had turned extremely clingy after the party last Friday and who I haven't seen today, thankfully enough.

When we got to the field, few of the students were already sat on the bleachers placed on the left and right side of the field. Cook led me to the one on the right, helping me up until we reached the top part of the bleachers, telling me that this would be the best spot to watch seeing as no one would see if anyone ever decides to use the loser as a stimulant for masturbating. I cringed and grimaced at the thought, but sat down with Cook as he continued to tell me about his latest conquest. We talked, laughed, and watched as students gathered and took a seat until both bleachers were half full. The rest of the gang was already seated with us, except for Naomi. I looked around the area in search for her, but instead found Sophia on the end of the bleachers, looking up in search for someone. Someone who I'm sure was me. I immediately ducked my head, not wanting to speak to her at the moment. My friends didn't miss it as they shot me curious glances except for Effy who just smirked, Cook who's laughing again, and Thomas who gave me a smile which made me smile back in return. I heard someone snort to my left and found my sister with amusement written all over her face.

"She's gone, Ems. You can stop playing hide and seek now." Katie said. So I sat up right away and checked for the time, 10:28… Two minutes until the time set for the loser to come out. The loser who I've come to know was still beside me, laughing with Freddie about something JJ was rambling about. I smacked his arm to get his attention and pointed to the time displayed across from us once he turned around to my direction.

"Aren't you going to be late for something?" I asked and was surprised when everyone from the gang laughed at me. I furrowed my brows and looked around me as I continued, "Was it something I said? Am I missing something? And where's Naomi?" that set them off even more. What the fuck? I'm not sure if everyone around me was tripping or if I was really missing something, but it was starting to annoy me. I could already feel my cheeks heating up from embarrassment.

"Oh, Ems." Katie said in between laughs and I scowled at her.

"She's not here." Effy interjected with a smirk from beside Panda.

"Oh no, she's actually on that field." I answered sarcastically which set Cook laughing again.

"Right, you are, Red. She really is." He answered as everyone around us stood up and started cheering. Cook was shouting on the top of his lungs to the direction of the field with the rest of the gang backing him up. I looked at the field and there I saw a naked woman with a balaclava on, running around the field stark naked, hands raised and the word 'DRAGONS' painted on her stomach and 'LOSER' on her back. I felt, more than knew, that my mouth was open when I realized who it was. It couldn't be, could it? I thought… I saw her leave with that girl last Friday; surely she got lucky with her? I didn't know what to feel then as I watched Naomi flexing her arms, showing the crowd her biceps and triceps, then going off to dancing silly and running around again, making the crowd laugh. It wasn't like Naomi, but I guess what's left for you to do when you have to stand in front of hundreds of people naked? I felt dizzy all of a sudden and sat on the bleachers, holding my head in my hands; the sounds around me and my vision becoming blurred.

"_You ever think you're going to have a family someday?" I asked, as I laid my head down on my friend's stomach. She snorted._

"_Ems, what's with the question?" She asked absent-mindedly brushing her fingers through my hair while staring at the ceiling. _

"_I was just wondering. I mean, have you thought about it?" I asked. She shrugged._

"_It has crossed my mind, but it's not really something I've thought thoroughly through, innit? What about you?" She asked. _

"_Same thing, but you know you're already invited to my wedding, right?" I smirked at her, knowing how allergic she was with this topic. _

"_Invited or not invited, I'm not going." She replied cheekily with a shrug of her shoulders. _

"_Oi!" I exclaimed as I lunged at her and pinned her down to the bed. _

"_I'm kidding, Ems. 'Course, I'm going! Wouldn't miss it for the world." She said as she struggled to free herself. I let her go but remained seated on her stomach. "For a small girl, you're heavy." She said, still trying to get me off of her. _

"_Nuh ah… Let's make a deal first." I said, pushing her back to the bed. She relaxed and folded her arms behind her head with raised eyebrows. "If by the age of 30, none of us are still married… then we're getting married to each other." I continued._

"_I don't see what the problem with that is… Emily Fitch, my housewife and slave." She replied cheekily and I smacked her arm hard. "Ow. Marital abuse!" She exclaimed while massaging the part I hit. _

"_Cow!" I pouted and crossed my arms. She sat up, making me glide down to her lap and raised her pinkie in between us. _

"_I promise to marry Emily Fitch, when I'm 30 and I'm old, single and sexually frustrated." She said and though her face was blurred, I could see her smiling. I chuckled and linked my pinkie with hers. _

"_Promise?" I asked looking at her intently. _

"_How can I say no when you're looking at me like that?" She asked and I couldn't help but feel my heart swell at her answer, making me beam back at her. _

* * *

I woke with a jolt, sitting up and taking in my surroundings. The room I was in was all-white and I immediately feared that I was in a hospital. This was definitely not the way I intended to tell my parents about the flashbacks. I sighed and thought back to the flashback I just had. That flashback just gave me more reason to think that whoever this friend was, she was that special for me to make a promise to marry her at the age of 30, assuming we're both still single. It was cute… different from the ones I've been getting ever since the first flashback. But I couldn't help but think who is she? And why can't my flashbacks just show her face completely? I'm getting more and more tired of it. And I wonder what happened after I passed out earlier... I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and I immediately picked it up, seeing 10 new messages all from Sophia. I rolled my eyes and opened them. All of them saying the same thing: _'babe, where are you?' _So I called her as she picked up on the third ring.

"_Finally! Are you trying to ignore me?" _She asked and I heard a hint of exasperation in her voice.

"Sorry, I fainted but that's not important anymore. Listen, can you meet me by my locker right now? I need to talk to you." I replied, stealthily making my way out of what I assumed to be our school's clinic.

"_Yeah, yeah. I'm on my way." _She replied and I hung up the phone.

I checked the time on my phone and found that I've been out for at least 3 hours. These flashbacks are really taking its toll on me. It turned out I was right about the clinic part and immediately set off for my locker, which wasn't that far. 5 minutes tops? As I turned to the last corner to my locker, I found Sophia already stood by my locker, biting her nails in anxiety. I felt that sinking feeling again in my stomach, but pushed it aside and told myself that I have to do this. I have to do what is right. I continued to walk to her direction. She must have heard me as she turned to my direction and immediately ran to me, enveloping me in a hug and kissing me all over my face. I let her do it for a while, but pushed her away because this wasn't the reason why I was here.

"Are you okay?" She asked, cupping my cheeks with her hands. I grabbed her hands to put it down then pulled away.

"Yeah, I'm good. It was nothing, don't worry about it." I smiled to give her assurance and allowed myself to relax when she smiled back.

"So… what's so important that you had to get me out of class?" She asked with a smirk. Fuck, I forgot about that.

"Shit, my bad. What class again?" I asked as I tried to remember my schedule. That flashback has surely got me disoriented.

"Politics, babe. Kieran was looking for you actually, said that it was so unlikely _for that little redhead to cut classes._" She said mocking Kieran's voice, making both of us laugh. I felt bad because even though I didn't like her, I would surely miss the moments where we just had fun with each other and laughed at everything we could laugh at. I must have been frowning as she frowned at me and asked, "babe, what's wrong?"

I felt tears on my eyes and I let one slide down my cheek. I ducked my head, wiped the lone tear away, sniffled and looked back at her. _You can do this_, I told myself. I inhaled for a long time, before exhaling all my anxieties away.

"Sophia, I… I don't think this is working." I said, my voice breaking at the end of my sentence. She frowned deeper, but quickly recovered herself and smiled at me.

"What do you mean this isn't working? Do we have a problem? I mean, we can do this, yeah? We can fix this. Just… babe, tell me what to do and I'll do it." She replied and I shook my head at her as I covered my mouth with my hand to stop me from sobbing.

"I can't… Sorry, I really can't… It's not you-" I started but she cut me off and cornered me, making me lean back by my locker.

"It's not you, it's me, isn't it?" She said as she slammed my locker above my head, making me flinch. She said it differently from how she said it during our first date. She was looking at me with a look I haven't seen from her before; a look that could kill me, if only looks could kill. I was frightened because this wasn't the Sophia I knew of. It was as if she was possessed. "Say it, Emily. Say it again." She sneered and I could see her shaking physically.

"I'm s-s-sorry..." I said sobbing from fear. She slammed the locker on the left of my head, almost hitting me.

"That's not what I asked you to say." She sneered and slammed the locker above my head once again. "Say it!" she shouted and I flinched.

"I-it's… It's not you, it's m-" I didn't get to finish as she immediately grabbed my jaw and slammed my head to the locker, immediately feeling my head ache from the force. "Sophia… please…" I said in between ragged breaths. She put her face near mine and made sure I was looking at her straight in the eye.

"Please what Emily?" She asked with an evil smirk. She slammed my head against the lockers when I didn't make a move to answer. "PLEASE WHAT?" She shouted.

"I'm sorry, okay! I'm sorry! Just please let me go! Let me go, Sophia. This isn't you." I answered in a rush before she gets to put a word in.

She slammed my head again to the lockers with more force than she had than the last two times she did. I felt myself growing dizzy and tried getting her hands from my jaw, but she was strong and I already knew Sophia wasn't seeing anything. She's blacked out from her emotions. And it was at that time when I realized I shouldn't have done this without anyone in the hallway present. Everyone was at class, oblivious to the fact that someone was getting hurt out in the hallway.

For a moment I was able to get her grasp out of my jaw, but she immediately put in her other hand in replacement of the other. She slammed my head again to the lockers to make me stop my movements and this time I could feel myself slowly slipping into unconsciousness. My vision was blurry, the images of Sophia and the hallway swimming in my vision. I saw through the blur that she has her other hand raised in a form of a fist, and I knew what was coming and braced myself for it. I had my eyes closed, waiting for the blow to come when it didn't. I tried to open my eyes to see what was happening, but all I saw was a flash of blonde swimming in my vision and I slumped to the floor with my eyes closed. Naomi came to save me, I thought and I allowed myself to smile, wishing I wasn't imagining this. I heard a loud thud on the floor and a faint voice telling me to stay awake, to stay with her and to breathe. And even though it was that tiny, I knew then that it was Naomi. I tried telling her that I was still here as I felt myself being carried, but Morpheus got the better of me and everything went black.

* * *

**Not what you expected, was it? Well, we all know that something's wrong with Sophia. And I guess this is what happens when you're obsessed about someone that when you lose them, you just start to lose your shit. Her reaction isn't based from personal experience per se, but based from what a close friend of mine had experienced. It wasn't exactly how and where it happened. But the similarity was she got hurt. Yes, a she from a he. Jesus Christ.**

**Anyway, more to come soon! **

**Thoughts? Reviews? xx**


	12. Chapter 11

Naomi

It was a little before 2 in the afternoon when I went out of my History class to visit Emily since Katie and Effy had left for their afternoon classes. I was told a while ago after my little 'show' (which was unexpectedly fun, if I may say so) that Emily had passed out, but that the doctor said she was okay. That it might just be an aftermath of remembering something from the past, considering she has amnesia, which made me wonder for a second what memory it was that Emily remembered, wishing at the back of my mind that it was a memory involving me.

I was walking straight ahead, a few meters from the little intersection in the hallway, when I heard something being slammed to the locker and someone struggling to breathe. I felt something in my gut, something I knew that wasn't anything good. I leant on the wall and quietly walked to the corner and peeped my head. I saw Sophia with her hands raised in a form of a fist; ready to blow a punch to the person she was holding to the lockers. Her girlfriend, who was just passed out a while ago. Emily. As soon as I was able to completely take in and understand what I was seeing, I felt nothing but rage and lost all sense of rational thinking.

You know what they say when you're too overwhelmed with anger that you see nothing but red? They were right. It was literally like nothing I've imagined it to be. All I know was that I felt a tremendous amount of energy in me and I felt hot as a blazing fire; as if the only thing that could stop me is if someone would point a fire extinguisher on me. I didn't know what happened then. I might have punched or kicked Sophia in the head, I have no idea. But as soon as I saw Sophia knocked out on the floor, the red vanished from my eyes and I felt drained, like all my energy had been sucked from me. I felt limp, but remembered Emily. I looked to where I thought she was and found that she was well out of it, smiling about god knows what whilst her eyes were closed. I felt nervous and I reached out to her, noticing for the first time that my hands were shaking.

"Ems, wake up!" I said shaking her awake, but to no avail.

"Stay with me please, Ems... Breathe!" Still nothing.

I carried her up and practically ran to the clinic despite feeling myself slowly becoming dizzy; all the while wishing that she would wake up anytime soon. I kicked the door of the clinic, alerting the nurse present on the desk and laid Emily on the only available bed in the clinic.

"Call the doctor!" I told the nurse whilst covering Emily up in the blanket.

"I'm sorry, the doctor's on break-"

"I don't fucking care what he's doing just call the fucking doctor!" I snapped at her. "And look after her, I have to take care of something." I told her and went out of the clinic on a mission.

I went back to where I left Sophia lying on the floor, face all wounded up from my beating, slowly becoming conscious. I grabbed the collar of her shirt as she opened her eyes and brought her face near mine.

"You're fucking mental!" I shouted at her and she flinched. "Doug and Harriett will hear about this. I will let Anthea know what you've done. Don't ever go near her again, understand?" I sneered and she nodded in return, looking extremely apologetic but it wasn't enough. I wasn't satisfied. Nobody hurts my friends. Nobody. Especially Emily.

"Do you fucking understand?" I asked and fixed her with a Campbell glare.

"Y-yes... I'm sorry I didn't mean to..." She replied and I dropped her to the floor and left her to it.

I didn't need to hear any more of her excuses. There is no excuse for hitting someone you shouldn't be hitting in the first place. I sent Effy and Cook a text, telling them what had happened and asking them to bring Sophia to the Principal's office, with strict orders not to tell anyone, especially Katie. I headed back to the clinic and found that the nurse had obediently followed what I asked her to do.

"Ah, so you're the feisty blonde girl the nurse was telling me about. I'm Dr. Collins." He stretched his arm out with a friendly smile and I took it.

"Naomi. I'm sorry to have cut your break short." I said and he just shook his head.

"Doesn't matter. What happened then?" He asked looking back to Emily who was stirring on the bed.

I told him how I came to find her a while ago, remembering the sound of something being slammed to the locker and told the doctor that it might be Emily, which he agreed to considering her state. I told him everything until I brought her to the clinic, just in time for Emily to be fully awake once I was done. She looked around and when she saw us, her face lit up, as if nothing happened to her a while ago. The doctor stretched his hand to Emily and I went to sit on the left side of the bed.

"Hi Emily, remember me? How are you feeling?" He asked with the same smile he gave me a while ago. She looked at his hand for a second, then shook it.

"Yeah, of course... I'm fine, I think?" She answered, biting her lip as she answered. I looked at it and felt myself subconsciously licking my lips, then chastised myself. _This is not the time, Naomi. _

"You don't feel any sickness? No headache? Anything at all, Emily?" Dr. Collins asked her and she shrugged back.

"Nothing. I'm fine." She answered casually, which made the doctor and I look at each other in worry, but the doctor quickly covered it up with his smile.

"Alright, what day is it today then?" He asked slowly.

"Monday." She answered with a smile and it was contagious as I felt myself smiling, despite the possibility of her having a concussion.

"Good, good. What date?" He asked, taking note of Emily's answers as I looked back and forth between them.

"November 30." She replied.

"And what year?" He asked and I felt my palms sweating knowing how crucial this question was.

"2009." She paused then her brows furrowed. "Look, I don't mind with all the questions, but what is it for?" She asked. I felt a surge of relief in my chest and looked at the doctor to see him looking at me, asking me if he should tell her. I nodded my head at him.

"Right, well… Tell me, Emily, do you remember what happened to you?" He asked and I looked back to Emily as she nodded.

"I was breaking up with my girlfriend. I mean, uhm… ex… girlfriend." She paused and smiled sheepishly at me then looked back to the doctor whilst scratching her head. "And then she…" She paused again and frowned, like she was trying to remember what had happened to her. The doctor and I waited patiently and didn't make any move to interfere. "She slammed my head to my locker. Several times." She finished.

I felt my hands balling into fists as I felt the anger run through my veins. No wonder Emily was in the state I found her in. I tried to think of reasons why Sophia would do such a thing, more so to someone like Emily who didn't deserve it. But all I could come up with was that Sophia was fucking mental, and for the first time I felt the regret rise up in my chest. This wouldn't have happened if I stopped Emily from dating her. I was having mixed emotions; the urge to run away from this room becoming too tempting.

I felt a soft hand massaging my knuckles and I felt myself relax immediately. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing, inhaling then slowly exhaling everything, and then repeating the whole process until I felt completely relaxed. I opened my eyes and found that Emily was already sitting up on the bed beside me, looking at me. I smiled at her, remembering how she was the only one who was ever really able to calm me down in a matter of seconds. Effy could do it too, but not as fast as Emily used to do it, and how she did just now.

I found myself looking at her chestnut orbs and felt myself slowly drowning in her eyes. It was beautiful, still as beautiful as how I remembered it to be. I saw a rage of different emotions flash in her eyes; pain, worry, contentment, and something akin to love. I felt myself pull away at the overwhelming sensation that has passed through me. Love? I asked myself and shivered at the thought. My heart was racing and I needed some fresh air. I smiled my thanks to Emily and my heart raced double when she smiled back. I cleared my throat and looked up to the doctor who was watching us intently. I felt myself blushing and… Hold that thought, fucks sake, since when did I do blushing?

"I'll leave you to it. I'll just be outside." I said as I made a quick exit, but not before hearing the doctor's explanation that I knew was about the possibility of her having a concussion.

I sat myself on the bench outside of the clinic then placed my head in my hands, trying to calm my heart and control my breathing. Jesus Christ. What the fuck was that? And did I just blush? Fuck me… what are you doing to me, Emily? I leant my head back on the wall and sighed, closing my eyes. I felt the tension from my body slowly ebbing away, relieved that Emily was alright. But at the same time I felt how knackered I was and felt myself slowly falling asleep.

I woke up some time later by someone shaking me. I opened my eyes, the blurry image of the doctor slowly coming into focus and saw him giving me his friendly smile. I rubbed the sleep off my eyes and sat up properly before addressing him.

"Is she okay?" I asked, my voice hoarse from my nap. He nodded.

"Well, I checked everything whilst you were gone. Her vital signs are good, her pupils are equal, slight confusion, but no head ache. Emily is highly likely to be suffering a mild concussion, but isn't feeling the effects of it at the moment. Does her sister know about this?" He asked and I shook my head.

"I was planning on calling her after I get Emily out. Is she good to go?" I answered.

"She is. But I highly recommend that someone watch her 24/7. No physical activities or anything stressful for a week. It would depend if the symptoms worsen." He paused and looked thoughtful for a second. "Look… Naomi, was it?" He asked and I nodded and raised my eyebrow for him to continue. "I know it's none of my business, but I saw the way you were looking at her, and she to you. I'd like it if you looked after her, since you know basically know what she got herself into. That way I would know that she's well taken care of." He finished and I tried to ignore the feeling of snapping at him for intruding in my personal life, but stopped and convinced myself that he's just thinking of what is best for Emily at the moment. With that, I nodded my head, stood up and stretched my hand out for him to take, shaking it as he did so.

"Thank you." I said and pulled away as he nodded. "Are there any medicines that she will need just in case?" I asked. He pulled out a paper and wrote his prescriptions.

"Just Acetaminophen… That's Tylenol, to relieve the pain once the headache hits her." He gave the paper to me. "And here's my calling card." He paused and pulled it out of his jacket's pocket then gave it to me. "Do call me in case anything happens." I nodded. "Anything, Naomi. No matter what time it is. Call me." He said with a stern voice, which would have scared me if the circumstances were different. He sounded nothing like the jolly doctor Emily and I were just talking to a while ago. I nodded then and followed him inside the clinic.

Emily was sitting up on the bed, swinging her legs back and forth. I suddenly remembered how she would do that every time she was deep in thought and I felt myself smile at the thought that she still does the same thing until today. She looked up at us when we came in and smiled. The doctor told Emily that she was good to go and that if she feels anything, she should immediately tell me, or whoever she is with at the moment. After all the pleasantries were done, Emily and I said our goodbyes to Dr. Collins. I didn't miss the friendly wink that the doctor gave her and the light chuckle of Emily. I was fairly sure I was missing something, and was about to ask her what that was all about, but decided against it.

"Katie doesn't know yet." I said once we were outside the clinic, leading her to the parking lot. She sighed and slapped her forehead.

"Fuck! Katie! I forgot about that." She said then looked down, her brows furrowing. "And fuck. My bag! Where's my bag?" She asked, looking back at me. I don't remember seeing her with a bag earlier, so Katie must have taken it.

"Let me take care of that." I answered then pulled out my phone whilst walking to the direction of the parking lot and dialled Eff's number, who thankfully answered on the first ring.

"She's out of the basketball team." Was how she answered and I rolled my eyes despite of the good news. Effy never knew how to say hello.

"Well, hello there." I snorted and I could her smirking at me. "Thanks Eff, really. But that's not what I called you for." I said.

"The bag is with Katie." She replied. How the fuck she does that, I will never know. Sometimes I think Effy could literally read minds and see the words floating around in the air. It's bad enough that she does it to me every time I see her, or every time she gets the chance. But doing it over the phone is well… a bit overboard. But bollocks to that.

"I'll tell her. Is she with you?" I asked.

Emily and I finally reached the spot where I left my car. She raised an eyebrow at this, but went inside when I opened the door for her. I got in on the driver's side then turned on the ignition. I usually opt for a walk to and fro the house but I was told to have my left leg rested as much as possible and seeing as the car was automatic, I drove it to school.

"No. But she's been looking for her, Naoms. Tell her." She said and I sighed, resting my head on the steering wheel.

"I will. Thanks Eff." I said, then hung up the phone and placed it on the phone holder, sighing once more. "Your bag is with Katie." I said.

"You okay?" I heard Emily ask from beside me. I sat up properly then looked at her and smiled.

"Are you?" I countered and she smiled.

"Yeah. Thanks Naoms, you don't have to do this." She replied and I shook my head, driving off to the drug store.

"So, I just have to buy your medicine from the drug store and then I'll bring you home, is that good?" I asked. There was a long pause that I almost thought she fell asleep, before she answered.

"Yeah… yeah, that's fine." She answered and I could hear the uncertainty on her voice.

"What is it?" I asked and chanced a look at her to see her biting her lip.

"Actually, I don't think it's a good idea for me to go home." She answered in a rush. I was about to ask her why, when she continued. "It's just… I don't want my parents to know what's happened and I don't want to explain anymore. They'll be all over me again, which is rather annoying. Can I… Can I, like, stay over at yours? I-if that's okay?" She asked.

I didn't know what to feel. If I should feel happy that I'm finally getting the time alone with Emily that I've always wanted ever since seeing her again. Or if I should feel worried because I know my mum will be gushing over her. I didn't want Emily to feel overwhelmed, especially given the circumstances. But just the thought of what Sophia had done makes me feel the urge to protect Emily. I remembered what Dr. Collins told me a while ago. Of course. Of course it's okay. I wouldn't want her anywhere else. She must have thought that the answer was no judging by how long it was taking for me to answer her, because she started speaking again.

"I mean, it's alright if it's not. I can call Panda, or even JJ-"

"It's fine, Ems. I'm sure my mum wouldn't mind." I answered and gave her a smile to reassure her that it was really fine. She seemed to be satisfied with this as I saw her body relax on the seat.

The rest of the drive was spent in silence. Emily fell asleep just before we got to the drug store. I hated that I had to wake her up, but told her to stay in the car because I knew it wouldn't take that long. I also knew that she was knackered. It's not everyday that you faint twice. When I had the medicine prescribed by Dr. Collins, I continued our drive home. Before I knew it, I was already parking the car in our garage. I turned the ignition off and took a moment to myself to watch Emily, who was still sleeping peacefully beside me.

I took in her delicate features; from her eyebrows that would crease every now and then, along with the twitching of her nose which was rather adorable and her mouth that was slightly open, omitting the light snores she was making. Beautiful doesn't even give her justice. No, it's an understatement. And for the umpteenth time, I remembered what she had gone through today and I felt a pricking pain in my chest at the thought that someone as beautiful and as lovely as Emily had to experience that. I mean, why is it always the good ones who suffer? If it was only possible to switch places with someone, I would have done it in a second. I would have done it to spare Emily from that. For fucks sake, she's already had an accident. Hasn't the world had enough of giving Emily shit she doesn't deserve? I sighed, then made my way out of the car to open Emily's door. I bent forward and shook her awake.

"Hey, we're here." I whispered. She stirred awake and I couldn't help myself as I reached forward to tuck a stray fringe behind her ears. She stood up then and made her way to the front door. I closed the door and locked the car before following suit, then turned to face Emily.

"Thought I should warn you that my mum could be a bit-" I started then was cut off by mum.

"Naomi, love, is that you?" I heard my mum shout from the other side of the yellow door.

"-much." I continued my sentence to Emily, and then shouted to my mum. "Yes, mum!"

"Oh. She sounds lovely." She smirked and I rolled my eyes, opening the door.

"Fine, then. Welcome to my humble abode." I said, standing aside to let Emily in just as my mum appeared in the hallway.

I saw her eyes light up and I had to warn her through my eyes to keep her shit together, which she ignored. Oh fuck. I looked back to Emily, who was looking around the house, trying to take everything in. I watched as she took her time taking everything in, until her eyes landed on my mum. I saw something flash in her eyes, but I didn't know what it was.

"Naomi, don't be such a prude there and introduce this lovely lady to me." My mum interjected and I rolled my eyes.

"Mum, this is Emily. Emily, meet the demon a.k.a Gina Campbell, my mum." I introduced them with a playful tone. Emily smiled shyly at my mum as my mum beamed with joy.

"H-hi, Mrs. Campbell. It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you from Effy." She said.

"Please, call me Gina, dear. Mrs. Campbell makes me feel like I'm an old hag." Mum replied and waved her hand nonchalantly in the air.

"Thanks, Mrs… I mean, Gina." Emily replied, finishing off with a shy smile. They looked at each other for a moment and I was shocked when my mum burst into tears. Tears of too much fucking joy.

"Oh, dear. Come here and give me a hug, you little one." My mum said stretching her arms open, which Emily gladly accepted without a moment's hesitation. "It's been so long. I hope my little shit of a daughter has been treating you good." My mum said brushing her hand up and down Emily's back.

"She's quite nice, actually." Emily replied cheekily whilst hugging my mum.

At that moment, I think my heart swelled in happiness, despite the dig my mum threw my way. To see two of my favourite people together again, hugging each other, with pure happiness emanating from them just made my life complete. I wouldn't dare exchange this moment with anything else. This was fucking priceless. I felt tears brimming on my eyes and I wiped them, sniffling to stop myself from crying. My mum looked at me and smiled.

"Come here, you little shit. Group hug!" She said, beaconing me over and making both Emily and I laugh. I rolled my eyes and joined the hug. "I'm so glad to have you girls back!" She exclaimed, hugging us tighter and suffocating us a bit. I didn't mind though, and by the look of sheer happiness on Emily's face, I know she didn't mind as well.

* * *

**So, let us get this straight… Emily is staying over at Naomi's, she needs to rest for a week tops, and I don't think Naomi's going to let Emily out of her sight. So that means… Yes? That's right. Pure Naomily interaction in the next chapters! **_**chapterS**_**. Will try to update this as soon as possible!**

**Meanwhile… I wonder how Katie will take the news? Hmm. And I wonder if something will finally happen to the lovebirds. HEHEHEHE. Toodles! **


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: I'm going to have to apologize for an error I committed in the last chapter. I know I said we were in 2013, but then after a few days of thinking about it, it felt a bit iffy to me. So I'm going to have to change December 2, 2013 to November 30, 2009. But the rest of it stays the same, just the date. Don't worry, the mistake doesn't have anything to do with what's going to happen to the story. Let's just say it feels more uncomfortable. **

**Anyway, here is what all you guys have been waiting for. I'd like to hear what you think about it? Cheers! **

**All errors are mine.**

* * *

Emily

I've always wondered how it was possible for us to know and feel at first glance that a person is and will be special to us. That's how I had felt when I met Naomi's mom Gina. Her friendly features sent me a warm feeling in my chest and instantly made me feel welcome that although I couldn't understand why it did, gave me the reason to believe that she was once special to me. When she opened up her arms, I didn't hesitate and approached her as she enveloped me in a hug that made me feel loved. Don't get me wrong, I love Fitch hugs even though it would involve suffocating for more or less a minute. I didn't know why, but it felt different.

We were currently sat around the table eating supper, with Gina and Naomi in an argument about something political. I honestly couldn't be bothered to listen, but it was nice to see where Naomi obviously got her looks and brains from. She looked a lot like a younger version of her mom, only she had green eyes and friendly features; whereas Naomi had blue and was often wearing a scowl on her face, but still looked just as beautiful. Watching them argue was entertaining actually. It probably shouldn't be because it's becoming more and more heated by the minute, and I should probably make a move to stop before Naomi outright slaps her mom, but it was nice… and funny. Just watching them interact with each other made me envious. Naomi may have been stripped off the chance to experience a life with a dad, but the love her mom gave her more than made up for it. I honestly wished for a minute that my mom showed the same amount of affection towards me, but I knew better than to complain. I at least have a complete family, however complicated and fucked up it may be sometimes.

"Are you alright, love?" Gina said as she rubbed her thumb on the back of my hand, interrupting my thoughts. I cleared my throat and nodded.

"You sure, Em? You look like you could do with a shut-eye." Naomi interjected. I looked back and forth between the two of them, feeling that familiar feeling in my chest I get when Naomi looks at me like I'm the only one that matters. Only this time it was doubled. In front of me were two women, who never made me feel like I didn't belong here, who welcomed me with open arms even though I had inflicted pain for forgetting them. I felt the lump in my throat and swallowed to keep my tears at bay.

"Of course! Of course, I'm fine." I paused, nodding and wiping the lone tear that slipped. "It's just… Thank you. You really didn't have to." I finished then smiled, which they gladly returned.

"Oh shush, dear… There's no need for that." Gina replied waving her hand in the air. "You'll always be a part of this family." She said squeezing my hands before pulling away while Naomi nodded in agreement with a smirked.

A phone ringing pulled us out of the moment as Naomi struggled to pick her phone out of her pockets. She looked at her phone then frowned, looking up at us. "Excuse me, I need to take this." She said then stood up and left the room.

"She used to be a very warm and loving person before… used to wear her heart on her sleeve, that one." Gina said once Naomi was out of earshot, smiling fondly at the memory of it. I looked on, interested to where she was going with this.

"How was she like?" I asked which prompted a wider smile from her.

"Oh, she was a grumpy little tart when she didn't get her way, still is until now actually." We chuckled at that. "But she was lovely, in all sense of the word. When I gave birth to her, I knew she was going to be special to the people she will meet. It didn't matter if her prick of a father left us as soon as he knew I was pregnant, just as long as I had her with me." She paused and laughed at this. "I almost thought that not having a father there would eventually do something for her, you know? But I was wrong. She loved the people around her, she trusted people as soon as they laid eyes on her and she to them… she loved anyone just as long as they were human." She finished and I couldn't help but smile at the image of a young Naomi, opening her heart to everyone she met. Who would have thought?

"What happened?" I asked then she smiled sadly.

"She's never been the same when she lost you, love." She replied and I couldn't help but feel the familiar sinking feeling in my stomach. I felt another bout of fresh tears threatening to spill from my eyes and I sniffled to stop them. Gina held both of my hands in hers and squeezed them. "But you should also know, love… that as soon as I saw the light in Naomi's eyes again, I knew somehow that it was because of you." She said and I frowned.

"Me?" I asked and wiped away the tears that escaped my eyes. She nodded.

"She came home that day crying when she saw you again, but even then I noticed something different in her eyes. The light that was exhausted when you disappeared was back." She replied with a smile, which made me smile in return. I felt my heart beating fast upon hearing this. I honestly don't know what to say, and I knew Gina knew as much. She squeezed both of my hands again. "I'm glad you're back, Emily. I'm glad the only person who can put the spark in my daughter's eyes is back. Welcome home, love." She finished then smiled warmly at me as pulled back.

I felt my heart envelop in a warm feeling at each of her words. It was overwhelming, everything Gina had told me was. But it was a good kind of overwhelming feeling. I had no doubt in my mind and in my heart that this, where I was right now, was home. I was about to reply when Naomi interrupted us as she stood by the doorway.

"So… that was Effy and Katie." She started then bit her lip as she waited for my reaction. I sat up at this, knowing that Katie must have already heard what happened a while ago.

"Oh" I replied at first, too lost for words from all the things Gina had told me. "Does she…" I asked and left the question hanging. She nodded slowly in return, still with her teeth pulling at her lower lip. I chanced a look and I couldn't help but think how sexy it was when Naomi did that. I felt myself blushing then cleared my throat in an attempt to recover.

"How did she take it?" I asked, already having a fair idea of how Katie reacted. I can already see it in my head. She snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, she bloody wants to kill me for not telling her as soon as it happened." She replied and I sighed, feeling bad that she was blaming Naomi in all of this. "She also said she wants and I quote, _'to kill that fucking mong.'"_ She continued and I couldn't help but giggle at her poor mocking of Katie. "I swear Em, your sister is fucking frustrating. Oh, and she and Effy are coming around with your clothes. I already told her you were staying here for a week and she told me to tell you that she'd cover for you, so you need not to worry about anything." She finished. I sighed a relieved sigh this time, thankful that my twin always had my back.

"Thanks Naoms." I said. She smiled sweetly at me, which sent my heart into frenzy. I looked away from her and drank water instead.

"Alright, you two, go to the living room and leave me to deal with this mess." She said as she picked up Naomi and I's plates. "Go on, shoo! Bugger off!" She continued when she spotted us hesitating, shooing us away from the dining room as Naomi grabbed my hand and pulled me with her to the couch. I felt myself smile instantly at the feel of her touch then followed Naomi as I bit my lip to stop the grin that was threatening to come out.

We sat down once we reached the couch and completely relaxed ourselves. I closed my eyes and realized that I was going to live here for a week. I'm usually uncomfortable sleeping in another house for that long, but something about the vibe of this house makes me feel home and comfortable. Even before I met the eyes of Gina, I already felt warm inside. Plus, there was something eerily familiar with the house, but I can't picture it. It must have appeared in one of my memory bouts, as I call it myself.

I was brought out from my internal musings by something rubbing on my hand then I realized that Naomi had not pulled away ever since she grabbed it. I opened my eyes and looked at her to see her eyes closed with a contented look in her face. I'm not sure if she's doing it on purpose, but I don't mind. Of course, I wouldn't mind. I watched her for a while and remembered the things Gina had told me a while ago. Somewhere inside her, somewhere past her scowl, I know that the angel Gina had described to me a while ago is still in there, somewhere. I felt my cheeks burning from smiling too much and I subconsciously squeezed her hand that was still encased in mine. Her eyes fluttered open then she looked at me and smiled. My heart fluttered at the sight. God, she's beautiful.

"You alright, Em?" She asked with a rub of her thumb at the back of my hand. I smiled and nodded.

"What about you? You must be tired." I asked then chastised myself for pointing out the obvious. She chuckled at this.

"I am, but it's worth it." She replied and I felt the all too familiar fluttering in my chest. Jesus, how the fuck am I going to live in this place for a week without letting her know that I like her? Then, I remembered something. Thankful that my brain was still working despite being smashed one too many times today.

"Hey, I never got to know what happened this morning!" I exclaimed. She looked confused, tilting her head at me.

"What about this morning?" She asked and I rolled my eyes.

"You know… your nude show? This morning, by the field? Ring any bells?" I asked sarcastically, making her roll her eyes and snort.

"Oh, you missed the best part of the show." She answered winking at the end of her sentence for good measure. It was my turn to snort.

"What's it then?" I asked, raising my eyebrow and crossing my arms. She opened her mouth to answer, but someone beat her to it.

"She was chased out of the fields by Harriett and Doug."

I looked behind me to see Effy smirking by the doorway. I smirked back, and then looked back at Naomi who was chuckling of what I assumed to be a memory of being chased out by the college's heads.

"Yeah? Did they catch who you were?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"No. But you should have seen it, Em. It was bloody hilarious, it was." She chuckled and I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. We were brought out of it by a loud bang by the door and a string of expletives. I rolled my eyes and sighed. Here goes nothing.

"Fucking… Ugh!" Katie exclaimed as she dropped the bag full of my clothes and other things. She glared at Effy and crossed her arms. "You could have at least helped me, you know? Fucking bitch." She huffed and Effy just shrugged her shoulders. She looked at me and her eyes softened as she approached me. "Emsy!"

I stood up from the couch and realized that I was still holding hands all this time with Naomi and felt bad that I had to pull my hand from hers. I immediately missed the warmth of her hand.

"Emsy-sham." I hugged Katie, apologizing to her in twin talk. She pulled away and shook her head, cupping my cheeks.

"No, Ems. Katie-sham." She replied and I smiled, thinking to myself that nothing ever mattered as long as I had my twin with me, even though I want to kill her most of the time. "Right, enough of this sappy shit." She said and stepped back, just in time for Gina to come in.

"Is that you, Katie?" She asked, making Katie turn around and shriek at the top of her voice. I saw all of us cringe at the volume of it, but smiled at the unfamiliar sight as Katie hugged Gina with all enthusiasm.

"Oh my god, Gina!" She shouted as she squeezed the life out of Naomi's mom.

"Alright, you sap. Let her go before you kill her." Naomi interjected, smirking at Katie as she pulled away from Gina and flipped her off.

"Fuck off, Campbell." She said, but everyone knew it was said with good grace.

"Oh dear, you look very lovely! How have you been doing?" Gina said, gushing over Katie and her hair.

"Thanks, Gina. I'm well proper. I'm actually thinking of taking up fashion in Uni but-" Katie replied as she pulled Gina and herself away from us to talk. Effy, Naomi and I all but raised our eyebrows at this. I've never seen this side of Katie and trust me when I say, I'm not even complaining.

* * *

They left after what felt like hours of Naomi and I losing to Effy in Monopoly deal. I swear, that girl is really something. Nonetheless, it was fun to see how Effy likes winding Naomi up. I never thought that she took games seriously. Let's just say I'd hate to be at the receiving end of the glares she threw at Effy's way.

Naomi all but pulled me with her to her bedroom as soon as Effy and Katie left, but not before hugging them goodbye, and not before Gina told me _"If you need anything, love... anything at all, you tell me, okay?"_ I haven't got the chance to ask Katie what's up with her and Effy, but I'm pretty sure I'll have more than enough time for that next time. I was also surprised to see Effy hug Gina, which was uncharacteristic of her.

I was brushing my teeth in the restroom, preparing myself for bed. I still didn't know where I was going to sleep. Am I sleeping on the floor? Am I sleeping with her on the bed? But either way, just the thought of sleeping in the same room with Naomi is enough to set my heart fluttering. Jesus.

I stepped out of the restroom just in time as Naomi was pulling her shirt down, covering her well-toned abs that I didn't miss. I felt my mouth dry then shook my head before she notices I'm perving at her.

"Ready for bed?" She asked and I nodded, the ability to speak gone at the image of her toned abs.

I laid myself down and snuggled myself further in the duvet then closed my eyes and sighed. I heard the sound of duvet being shifted and waited for the dip that never came, then the sound of a foot padding in the room. What is she doing? I thought and was quickly answered.

"Goodnight, Em." She said and I opened my eyes to see her padding her way through her door carrying a pillow and a duvet. I sat up at this.

"Wait, where are you going?" I asked and she stopped by the door and looked at me.

"Uhh, heading to the couch to sleep?" She answered.

"What? No! I should be the one sleeping there." I said standing up to get the duvet and pillow from her. She rolled her eyes.

"Em, you're the guest. Just sleep, yeah?" She answered while I tried snatching the items from her, which I failed. Her grip was too strong. She chuckled at my feeble attempt. "Get some sleep, okay? Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." She said and I relented with a sigh.

She left the room, but not before flashing me a smile. I padded my way back to bed and tried to sleep, but I couldn't. Now that I was alone, I couldn't help but feel the fear rise up in my chest. All I could think was that any time now, Sophia would appear to continue what she was doing to me earlier this day. I tried to fight it off and thought of Gina and Naomi, but failed and found myself shaking in fear. As lame as it was, I needed her here with me. So I went downstairs to the living room to find Naomi texting on her phone. I cleared my throat and she looked up, surprise written on her face.

"Em?" She asked and I looked down at my feet, embarrassed at what I was going to ask her.

"I can't sleep." I paused and bit my lip before I continued, "I-I'm scared." I finished and she must have gotten the clue as she stood up right away and carried the duvet and pillow along with her.

When we got to her bedroom, she laid the duvet on the floor as a makeshift bed and adjust the pillow before turning around to look at me. "Is here okay? Or do you..." She cleared her throat. "Do you need me beside you?" She asked. I was tempted to say yes to the latter, but I'm afraid I might do something that might send Naomi running for the hills.

"Yeah, it's fine." I replied instead and laid down on the bed, making myself comfortable. "Goodnight Naoms."

"Night."

I must have been trying to sleep for a good 30 minutes before I gave up. In all honestly, I wasn't sleepy yet. I was tired, that much was obvious with how this day turned out. But it wasn't enough to send me to sleep. I looked at the time and found that it was still 8:30 in the evening, no wonder I couldn't sleep. I wondered to myself if Naomi was still awake, so I called her.

"Naoms?" I said and she murmured her reply. I aaled her the first thing that cane to mind. "Didn't you miss training today?" I heard her shift in her bed.

"Nope. Anthea let me off training for the whole week, said I should rest my left leg instead of injuring myself." She replied and I felt guilty and remembered that she carried me earlier to the clinic after the Sophia incident.

"I'm sorry." I apologized and I heard her chuckle.

"It's fine, Em. Get some sleep." She said. I still wanted to talk to her though, so I ignored the last part.

"Why was it you who ran naked anyway? Weren't you the one who got to pull first?" I asked and I heard her sigh.

"Yeah, but it was also part of the deal to seal the pulling with a shag." She replied.

"You didn't..."

"No, I didn't." She answered with finality in her voice. I made a mental victory dance in my head, then chastised myself for doing so. I still had one more question though...

"Why didn't you?" I asked then it was silent. I wasn't sure if Naomi was just ignoring me or if she's fallen asleep, so I called her.

"Naomi?" I said, still no answer. I checked and peeped to where she was, and true enough, she was asleep. I allowed myself to smile at the peaceful form, before laying down away from her side and closing my eyes. Her answer would do for now.

I wasn't sure if I heard it in my dream, or if it was in my imagination, or if it was real... But whichever it was, I heard it loud and clear.

_"She wasn't you, Em. She wasn't you."_


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: Another chapter, a short one, to get you guys going... Just because I had the time and I have a long weekend. Alleluia! I really need it. I wrote this one off my phone and I thought it was like over 4k+ words already then when I put in Word, it was half of what I thought. lol. **

**Anyway, thank you so much for the reviews! I hope I don't disappoint with this chapter. I don't mind people warning me when it gets too cheesy. So please, do so! I'd appreciate it. AND I just want to say a special thank you to mynameislizzie for leaving that review. It's a pleasure to have you aboard. I'm a huuuuuge fan of your writing! Trust me when I say I felt more encouraged to continue this story. :) **

**I'll leave you to it. Enjoy! ;) **

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Naomi

I wasn't sure if she was still awake to hear what I was going to say, but in my heart I felt that I had to say something, even if she wasn't going to hear it. So I said the only thing I could think of when she had asked that question.

"She wasn't you, Em. She wasn't you."

I wished more than anything that she did, but at the same time I was anxious of what to do next if she ever heard me.

I'm not inlove with her, not yet anyway. But I knew I liked her more than I ever thought I would. And I think, had it not been for her accident, I would have fallen inlove with her since then. Because looking back to the time when we were inseparable, I think deep inside I've always fancied the fuck out of her... ever since she kissed me, and I kissed her back.

It happened in a house party. I was waiting for her to arrive then, but as usual she was running late. I had been waiting for a good 2 hours. It was around 10 in the evening that I gave up waiting for her, thinking she had bailed on me and instead headed inside the house. I drank shot after shot and bottle after bottle. I'd even had a drag of a mate's spliff. I was upset because even though things got in the way, Emily would never bail on me. Ever. And I couldn't think of any other excuse for it except that she was distancing herself further from me, since she was already cold towards me prior to the party.

I was completely munted when she had finally arrived. It was already 12 midnight then. And as soon as she saw me, she dragged me out of the 'spin the bottle' circle I was in to the backyard of the house. She had chastised me, yelled at me, and even slapped me for breaking a promise we had had before... that we'll never get too wasted, especially if one of us is absent. I got angry and shouted to her, telling her that I thought she bailed on me, that I thought this was her way of distancing herself from me, and all the other things I thought of that night. I would have gone on and on, had it not been for her courage to kiss me. And I understood what she was trying to tell me through that kiss. The cold shoulder, the distancing, the hesitance to meet me at the party... I understood. She was trying to save our friendship. But I told her as I kissed her back, that I felt the same way. I fancied her and she had nothing to worry about.

It had been the best night of my life then. It still is. But the very next day, I lost her to an accident. I never saw her again... until three years later, that is.

I couldn't help but feel the pain I had felt the night I knew that she was gone. I had thought then that life really had a way of fucking up with me, with anyone, really. And now that I have her back, albeit sans the memories we had shared, I thought that fate also had a way of repaying you for the pain that it had caused you, no matter how long it takes.

As I laid there remembering everything that had happened in my life so far, I didn't realise it was already 3 in the morning. I stood up and went to the backyard for a smoke, or two I mean, then got ready for school before I prepared breakfast for Emily, the classic English breakfast and her medicine.

I didn't want to wake her up because she looked like she needed the shut-eye, so I wrote her a note and left it beside her head.

_"Good morning, sleepy head! _

_I left for school already. I didn't want to wake you because I thought you needed it. Don't worry about your scheduled exam in Politics today; I'll take care of it. Just rest, yeah? Mum will be there if you ever need anything. _

_P.s. Breakfast is on the table with your medicine. _

_Later, N x" _

I gave her a peck on the forehead, just because I wanted to and just because I couldn't help myself. I left for school after that, but not before telling my mum to keep a close eye on Emily.

* * *

Convincing Kieran to let Emily off her examinations today was quite a menial task, especially as I knew I was his favourite student. I was also called to the Principal's office by Doug and Harriett for the Sophia incident. I was told that I was going to be suspended for a day, due to my beating of Sophia, which I gladly accepted. Sophia, on the other hand, was going to be given a drug test and psychological test with 2 weeks suspension, starting tomorrow.

Everything was fine and I thought for the first time, this college had done something good. I couldn't even be bothered to think what other people thought of me as I walked with a skip on my step to my locker, preparing myself for home. I turned around and was about to head my way to the parking lot when I bumped into the person I didn't want to see. I glared at her and she took a step back, twiddling her fingers and looking down at her feet. She looked worse for wear, and I don't think she's slept a wink.

"Could you... Could you tell her that... that I'm sorry?" She started then looked up at me, shame written on her face. I sighed and felt myself soften at the gesture. "I beg of you, Naomi. I couldn't sleep last night. And I don't think I will ever be able to unless I know she knows that I'm sorry. P-please? Would you?" She finished and I nodded as she smiled her thanks.

I walked past her to the parking lot, but stopped in my tracks when she spoke again.

"She feels the same about you, you know?"

I turned around, not believing a word that she's just said. But I knew that as I looked at her, a sad smile on her face, that she was serious.

"It was always Naomi this, Naomi that. But of course, I thought that maybe since she's with me that someday it would go away, you know? I was clearly stupid for believing that." She paused and chuckled bitterly at the thought. "I was mad at you, because not only have you ripped my heart into pieces, but you've also managed to take the girl I've ever loved after you."

I looked at her at that and instantly felt bad. Because I've managed to hurt her more than once, and although I have a heart of stone according to others, contrary to popular belief, I was still capable of feeling.

She wiped a tear before she continued, "But there's really nothing left for me to do, is there? And quite frankly, I can't blame her for liking you. I can't, because past that scowl of yours, behind your ice queen persona, I've always known you were a good person, Naomi."

I closed my eyes and looked up. I couldn't take the look of anguish in her face, knowing that I'm involved in most of it.

"So, tell her. You'd be a fool to let Emily go. She's worth it, you know?" She said and I nodded my agreement.

"Sorry." I said and she shook her head.

"It doesn't matter. Now we all know that it only takes one Emily Fitch to break down your walls and melt you." She said and I smiled, there was nothing I could say to that. After all, it was true.

"Take care of her, yeah?" I nodded and she nodded in return, before turning and walking away.

I sighed and felt lighter now that things have been settled, more or less. I took a moment to myself before driving my way home.

I went straight to my room when I arrived and was about to jump to bed when I was met with something I haven't seen for three years and have rarely seen even then. The twins had their arms wrapped around each other in a peaceful slumber. I couldn't help but smile at the image before me, because I know behind all their petty fights, deep inside they cared for one another.

I silently padded my way to where I placed the duvet and pillow last night and carried it with me before making my way out of my room to the couch. I checked the clock that was placed on the far side of the wall to see that it was still 5 in the afternoon, so it must not have been long since the twins fell asleep. I settled myself on the couch and not long after, felt myself drifting off to a much needed sleep.

* * *

I was roused from my sleep by a scream I wasn't familiar with. But as the cloud of sleep slowly vanished from my head, I realized who it was and immediately set off for my room. The door was already left ajar, so I went inside right away and saw that my mum was hugging a weeping and sweating Emily. She looked at me and told me with her eyes to take after her, then whispered to Emily that she will be back. As soon as she left, I took her place and hugged Emily, who was slowly relaxing. I continued to tell her that it's okay, she's safe, until she relaxed completely and sighed.

"Naoms?" She called.

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't you sleep here in the room with me?" She asked and looked at me with innocence.

I felt my heart ache at the sight and chastised myself for not setting up an alarm. What time is it anyway? And why didn't I feel Katie leave?

"I'm sorry. I fell asleep on the couch. But I'm here now, yeah?" I answered and she nodded her answer then placed her head on my chest.

I laid us down into a more comfortable position, her right arm placed over my stomach and my right arm wrapped around her shoulders, softly rubbing her arm. We stayed like that for a while, not saying a word. At one point I thought she'd fallen asleep when I heard her muffled request.

"Stay?" She asked. And I knew that she could feel how fast my heart was beating as I answered,

"I'd do anything you'd ask me to."

* * *

I woke up the next day feeling refreshed. That was the most comfortable sleep I've had so far. I also felt a weight on my chest; a weight I didn't recognize. I tried to think of last night's events and for a while I thought I've gone astray and went back to my old ways of shagging randoms. But soon remembered whose weight was weighing down on me, literally.

I opened my eyes and was met with the chocolate brown eyes that I've adored ever since I was twelve, its owner beaming at me. I thought then that I was dreaming, a lucid dream to be more specific. I thought as I convinced myself that this was a dream, and something like this happening in real life was close to impossible, that I would take advantage of it.

I beamed back at her and plucked up the courage to bend forwards and kiss the lips that I had missed all this time. As our lips met, she looked at me wide-eyed before closing her eyes and I followed suit. It felt real and I was bummed that it was only a dream. We continued kissing softly for a while, before I heard her release a soft moan and everything stopped. She pulled away quickly, touching her lips and looking at me wide-eyed. Then I realized as the seconds passed, that it wasn't a dream. It was real. We just fucking snogged each other. On my bed.

"Fuck."


	15. Chapter 14

Emily

"Fuck." She muttered, shell-shocked with what she's just done. Or more like, what we've just done.

I could still feel the way her lips had softly captured mine on my lips, and I couldn't help but miss it. At the same time it felt oddly familiar; as if this wasn't the first time we've kissed. But more than that, it was how fast my heart was racing. I could feel the heat spread all throughout my body, and I wouldn't even be shocked if my whole body was as red as a tomato right now. Ever since I saw Naomi on the court 3 weeks ago, I had found myself fantasizing about kissing her. And not one of them showed this one.

I wasn't sure if I should feel embarrassed, but looking at Naomi now, I think she's having a harder time processing all of it. The blood was drained from her face, making her look as pale as a ghost; still with that shell-shocked expression. I don't know if it was because of my fantasy, my embarrassment, Naomi's expression, or the combination of the three, but the absurdity of the situation made me burst into a fit of giggles. She looked shocked by this then pouted and crossed her arms.

"What's so funny?" She asked. I tried to stifle my laugh, but ended up laughing even harder. That was fucking adorable.

"You think this is funny?" She scowled, still with her arms crossed. In front of me is the full armour of Naomi's defense mechanism showing. It should be enough to alarm me that I shouldn't be laughing anymore, but something about this is fucking hilarious. I haven't laughed like this in a very, very long time. Actually, thinking about it, I think this is the first time I've laughed this much since I came to Bristol.

"Right. I'll leave you to it then." She said and turned around to leave for the room. That was enough to wake me up from whatever insanity I was in as I stood up and went after her.

"Wait!" I shouted as I caught her wrist. She tried to break free but I gripped her even harder. "I said wait, Naoms." I said seriously this time.

She pulled away her wrist then crossed her arms, raising her eyebrow to me as if to say continue. I felt the laughter rising in my throat again, and I couldn't help but giggle. She rolled her eyes, then turned around to leave.

"No, no! Wait, I'm sorry... It's just... Your face." I said in between laughs. She pulled away her wrist, this time harder than she had. And it was enough for me to stop laughing completely.

"No!" I shouted and she turned around, shocked by my sudden outburst.

"Can't you just wait for a fucking minute?" I asked, exasperated with her impatience. She bit her lip, and I knew I shouldn't have shouted at her like that.

"Sorry, you just keep running away." I sighed and stepped back until the back of my knees hit the bed, then I sat and patted the space beside me for her to sit down. She followed suit then sighed before she spoke.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." She said, looking at me apologetically. I couldn't help but giggle.

"Sorry Naoms, but you do realise that I kissed you back, right?" I said through giggles. I didn't know where the courage was coming from, but I thanked my lucky stars that for once, I wasn't acting like a tit.

She blushed and I coughed on my giggle at the sight, shocked at seeing Naomi blush for the first time. Did I just do that? I stared in amazement, knowing that Naomi doesn't blush. I don't know how long I stared at her for, but I was brought out from it by the smirk on Naomi's face. I gulped; confident Naomi did always turn me on.

"I knew you couldn't resist me." She replied and it was my turn to blush. Her smirk grew wider and I felt an urge to wipe it off her face.

"Yeah, alright... you shouldn't have done that." I said seriously. She frowned and I had to fight the urge to keep my face straight, before I continued, "You're right, I should have done that."

She didn't have time to react as I wrapped my arms around her neck and pulled her to me and closed the gap between us. I pushed myself harder against her lips then pulled away slightly, giving her a chance to back away. Blue eyes stared at me intently, like she was trying to decode if I was serious about this. I stared back at her and bit my lip, nervous about her reaction, all the while keeping my arms around her neck, threading my fingers at the nape of her neck. I didn't know if she was going to push me away, but I hoped against hope that she wouldn't. She chanced a look at my lips before looking back at me, then closing the distance between us.

The kiss was slow, tentative... then as soon as we got our rhythm; it turned into a hungry kiss, but still a passionate one. The need to have her closer tugged at me and I pulled her to me as I laid myself down, pulling her slightly on top of me with her left arm supporting her weight and her right hand on my hip, squeezing me there every now and then. It was more than enough to turn me on. And as she slid her tongue on my bottom lip, asking for entrance... I could feel the beginning of Niagara Falls between my thighs. I let her in. Fuck, of course, I did. And I thought as our tongues danced in a slow dance, that I had to stop this or else this would turn into something else I know Naomi and I aren't ready for.

As the kiss got more and more intense, Naomi's right hand slowly trailed its way up to my tits, leaving a burn from her touch. It was enough for me to arch my back, making me release a moan. She pulled away quickly, snatching the hand that was placed just under my breasts.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to..." She said in between ragged breaths, nodding to where her hand was just placed. Oh, I thought, but I hoped you did. I blushed at my thoughts then mentally slapped myself for thinking that way.

"Wow..." I muttered, trying to regain my breathing from the snogging that we've just had.

I don't know what it was about Naomi, but she made me want to lose control, and go head-on with something I haven't had any experience in.

"Yeah, wow..." She said. My brow furrowed, surely she's had enough experience to react this way, hadn't she? And I tell her as much.

"But it's never been that intense." She paused, looking deep in thought for a second before she continued, "It's always been so, I don't know... Disconnected?" She bit her lip as she finished.

"Oh" was the only reply I could think of.

Does she mean that our kiss felt connected? Because to me, it did. It was as if we were sharing something that was only between us. It was as if we've always been meant to do that. I suddenly remembered how my lips felt against hers and how our lips seemed to fit together and move in sync. Is that even possible? And what does this mean? Does she like me?

That question alone was enough to wake me up from whatever this was, because as much as my sister thinks that I'm naive, I knew the reputation Naomi had in Roundview. I've heard about it, but I knew better than to judge. And word had already spread that she wasn't like that anymore. But still, I couldn't help but wonder if I was another addition to the endless list of girls she'd shagged.

"What now?" I said coolly, standing up from the bed to put distance between us. I needed to be away from her. I couldn't think with her near me.

"What do you mean, what now?" She asked and I grew agitated.

"I mean, why? Why did you do that, Naomi?" I asked. She bit her lip as she thought of her answer, and I grew impatient, irritated that she can't even say it straight, whatever it was she was thinking.

"Fucking great." I mumbled then made my way to leave the room, stopping by the door. "Talk to me when you have an answer, yeah?" I said then left her to it. Fucks sake, she didn't even stop me.

I went downstairs to the kitchen and made myself tea. I needed to calm down. I've never felt this irritated. Not long ago I was deeming this as the best day of my life, but now that the happy bubble had burst, it's starting to become the most annoying day of my life. If it wasn't for this fucking concussion, I would've left this place already.

I stayed in the guest room downstairs for the rest of the afternoon, trying to avoid her at all costs and only leaving the room to get a change of clothes, to shower and to eat. It was nice, and I was thankful Naomi and I had the house to ourselves, Gina leaving some time in the middle of the day for the grocery. She didn't miss the fact that I was downstairs, and I thought for a second that she was going to talk things out with Naomi, but she just shook her head while looking up to the direction of Naomi's room before making her way out.

Some time later, I felt myself falling asleep when someone knocked on my door. I went to answer it and came face to face with the person I least expected to see.

"Effy."

She glanced at my lip, before returning my stare with a smirk.

"Oh." She said.

Of course, she knew. When did she not know anything, anyway? I rolled my eyes and stepped aside to let her in, knowing she was here for a reason. She floated her way into the room and leant back on the headboard of the bed, blazing up and pulling out a flask of alcohol, offering me the joint and the drink. I raised my brows at this, but thought fuck it as I took a drag and a drink. I didn't need any company, but I at least needed the calm Effy brought along with her.

We sat like that for a while, neither of us talking, communicating instead through passing the joint and the flask back and forth. I knew in my intoxicated mind that sooner or later, Effy would do what she came here for. And I was right.

"So." She started and took a drink from the flask, then passed it to me. "Why are you here and not upstairs?" She asked, making me sigh and roll my eyes.

"You already know why... She's a cow." I replied.

She chuckled, "you're right." She said and I chuckled along with her, the effects of the joint taking over.

We were silent again after that, laughing about nothing every once in a while. I appreciated Effy for not drilling me with questions. I see now why someone as closed off as Naomi seek her presence. You can trust her to get things out of the way in your own timing. And I know she was doing just that as I slowly felt the urge to tell her my side of things, but she got there first. Or so, I thought.

"Naomi... She's never been a people person." She started and it was enough to interest me. "She was worse when I met her. I didn't know why, but when she told me everything, I understood." She said, wincing from the burn of the vodka then passed the flask back to me. I had an idea about what she was talking about, but left her to it. After all, she hardly talks and I wanted to take advantage of it.

"Do you know she's never actually told me that you're the bestfriend she lost?" She asked and I shook my head.

"How did you know then?" I asked, all the while I thought she knew.

She shrugged, "her eyes said it all."

I then remembered what Gina told me two nights ago, how she saw the light in Naomi's eyes again. I understood what they were on about. Looking back, Naomi may keep the straightest face, but when you look into her eyes, you see every emotion she was feeling. I stayed quiet. I didn't know what to say to that, and thankfully, Effy saved me the trouble.

"She's scared." She said, and I snorted.

"She's always scared." I retorted and she smirked.

"She's scared of letting you in completely, because she thinks someday she's going to lose you again." She continued. My heart sank to my stomach. It breaks my heart to know that I'm the reason why Naomi is always so scared and so closed off.

"Did she say that?" I asked. There was a short pause, then she shook her head.

"Mind if I stay?" She asked and I knew she got the answers she was looking for. I nodded my answer and laid myself down on the bed as she did.

We laid there for the rest of the night, neither of us speaking. I honestly don't know if she was staying the night, but I didn't mind. After all, I felt better after talking to her. I was half-tempted to ask her about Katie since my darling sister can't even say a damn thing about it, but thought better of it.

"Thanks, Eff." I said as I shifted myself in a comfortable position and not long after felt myself slipping into dream land.

I woke up the next day feeling better than I had yesterday and found the space next to me vacant. I checked for the time in my phone and saw that it was already 10 in the morning, which meant that Effy and Naomi must have left early for school. It was Thursday, after all. I realized that I made it through the night without the nightmares, so the trauma must be wearing off… or maybe the calm that Effy brought along with her last night helped. And thank fuck my headache was gone. I heard the doorbell ring throughout the house and went to fetch whoever it was, when again, I came face to face with someone I least expected to see; much less find out where I was this whole time.

"Mom?!"

* * *

**And so the plot thickens. Trouble in paradise? No need to worry though, things will get better from here… and you have my word. ;) **

**Reviews?**


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